Adriano, who signed in March but had only made four appearances due to injury and fitness problems, scored with a characteristic left-footed shot into the top of the net to seal the home win in the 89th minute at the Pacaembu in Sao Paulo.
Corinthians were a goal down to relegation threatened Atletico only 10 minutes earlier and in danger of relinquishing their lead in the standings to Vasco da Gama, who beat bottom team Avai 2-0 in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
However, former Portugal striker Liedson headed the equaliser from right-back Alessandro's cross after the visitors from Belo Horizonte had taken the lead 11 minutes into the second half with a header from central defender Leonardo Silva.
"This goal is very important for me. After more than a year without scoring, to be able to hit such a goal is hard to explain," said Adriano, who by taking off his shirt to celebrate not only earned a yellow card but also showed he was overweight.
"I still have a lot to do but [coach] Tite put his confidence in me and I managed to score at the end," Adriano, top scorer in the championship when he helped Flamengo win the title in 2009, told reporters.
Their captain Fred hit a hat-trick to take his tally to seven goals in five days after scoring four in Wednesday's 5-4 win over Gremio.
Internacional climbed into the top four, which are qualifying berths for next year's South American Copa Libertadores club championship, with a 2-1 away win over Botafogo, who dropped to eighth after their sixth defeat in seven matches.
America Mineiro's three-match winning-streak, which included victories over Corinthians and Fluminense, in their fight to avoid relegation came to an end with Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Sao Paulo.
