Soccer-Palmeiras fans rejoice in Jesus

SAO PAULO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Palmeiras coach Marcelo Oliveira saluted two-goal teenager Gabriel Jesus and lauded his "immense potential" on Sunday after his side's 3-2 win over Joinville in Brazil's Serie A. The 18-year-old put Palmeiras ahead in the first minute with a sweetly taken goal and Dudu doubled their lead after 23 minutes. Second-from-bottom Joinville scored twice before halftime to level the match but Jesus popped up again midway through the second half to restore their lead with his seventh goal in 18 first-team matches. He left the field with cramp five minutes later with Palmeiras fans singing "Glory, Glory Hallelujah." "He is growing and he will do much more as he gains in confidence," Oliveira said. "He can still improve some aspects of his game, he sometimes gets anxious to finish things off but he always goes for goal. "He has immense potential and he wasn't promoted earlier because I worked with the youth teams for a long time and I know how it works," he added. "You have to play him little by little, and he'll gradually fit right in. And today he is one of our principal weapons because he is very tactically obedient and he has a great power to attack." The three points lifted Palmeiras into fourth place, leapfrogging Fluminense, for whom Ronaldinho was once again disappointing. The former FIFA World Player of the Year helped the Rio club win on his debut on Aug. 1 but has either been left out the team because he is unfit or looked lost as in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at home to Atletico Mineiro. Some Fluminense fans jeered the former Barcelona and AC Milan forward when he was subbed after 67 minutes, Globoesport said. "That's the price you pay for a period of inactivity," coach Enderson Moreira said of Ronaldinho's poor showing. "We are trying to find a way but it's not easy. Football is competitive, the first thing is getting a run of games, then a week of training. "He is talented, with great quality. (But) he is up against it and he has to pay a price for that." Atletico's win keeps them in second place behind Corinthians, who won 3-1 at Chapecoense to extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches. (Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Peter Rutherford)