RIO DE JANEIRO, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Raphael Veiga scored twice as defending champions Palmeiras romped to a 4-1 home victory over Gremio in their Brazilian Serie A clash here on Wednesday.
Veiga headed in the hosts' opener but Joao Mares put Gremio on level terms with a long-range effort that flew into the top right corner.
Veiga restored his team's lead by converting from the penalty spot just after halftime before Mayke and Luan Garcia completed the rout.
Palmeiras now have four wins and a draw from their first five games of the season and lead second-placed Botafogo by a point, though the Rio de Janeiro outfit have a game in hand. Gremio are 10th, six points off the pace.
In Rio de Janeiro, Pedro and Everton Ribeiro scored either side of halftime to hand Flamengo a 2-0 home victory over Goias.
Elsewhere, Fluminense won 2-0 at Cruzeiro, Atletico Mineiro cruised to a 4-0 win at Cuiaba, America Mineiro drew 2-2 at Bragantino, Santos eased to a 3-0 home win over Bahia and Athletico Paranaense won 2-0 at Internacional. ■
