Midfielder Ze Rafael started the game on the bench but was introduced after just six minutes to replace the injured Ricardo Goulart.
He put the home side 1-0 up after a quarter of an hour and then laid the ball on for Marcos Rocha to double their lead approaching the hour mark.
The 25-year old capped his performance by grabbing the third goal with 70 minutes gone before Bruno Henrique completed the scoring in the final minute.
On a high scoring day of action in the Serie A, Bahia beat Corinthians 3-2, Athletico Paranaense overcame Vasco da Gama 4-1 and Ceara joined Palmeiras at the top of the table with a 4-0 victory over newly promoted CSA.
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Two of the early favourites for the Serie A title, clashed in Porto Alegre, with visitors Santos beating hosts Gremio 2-1.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
