Igor Jesus struck in the 84th minute as defending champion Botafogo salvaged a 2-2 home draw with Sao Paulo in Brazil's Serie A championship on Wednesday.

The visitor opened the scoring through winger Aldemir Ferreira, whose curling long-range effort left goalkeeper John Furtado with no chance.

Venezuelan midfielder Jefferson Savarino put the Rio side on level terms by receiving Artur Guimaraes' pass and rifling a 25-yard drive into the top-right corner.

The host lacked cohesion in possession and looked brittle in defense as Sao Paulo sought to restore its lead. It didn't take long for the Tricolor Paulista to again breach Botafogo's defense as Andre Silva found himself in space and fired home from 12 yards after Ferreira's pass.

But Botafogo refused to surrender and Jesus equalized against the run of play when he rose highest to meet Savarino's corner with a glancing header into the far corner.

"We need to focus a little more on executing what we've been working on in training," Jesus said after the match.

"We conceded a goal through a careless defensive error and that should never happen. This is such a difficult competition and we can't afford to let points slip through lapses in concentration."