Souza netted with a 31st-minute header at Sao Paulo's Morumbi Stadium on Wednesday evening after his teammate Nene cancelled out Leonardo Valencia's opener, reports Xinhua news agency.
Forward Everton made it 3-1 before Rodrigo Pimpao pulled a goal back for the visitors seven minutes from time.
Sao Paulo now have 16 points from eight matches, two points more than second-placed Flamengo, who host Bahia on Thursday. Botafogo, meanwhile, are 13th in the 20-team standings with nine points.
In Belo Horizonte, a second-half Rafael Sobis goal handed Cruzeiro a 1-0 win over Palmeiras. The result lifted Cruzeiro to sixth and left nine-time champions Palmeiras languishing in 10th place.
(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
