Former Barcelona forward Vitor Roque scored late as Palmeiras recovered from a goal down to secure a 2-1 home win over Ceara in Brazil's Serie A on Sunday.

Midfielder Joao Lourenco put the visitors ahead on the stroke of halftime when he took a touch to control Antonio Galeano's pass before firing a 20-yard shot into the top-far corner.

Argentine forward Jose Lopez, who replaced Ramon Sosa just before the hour, equalized from the penalty spot in the 67th minute after a Willian Machado hand ball.

Roque completed the turnaround two minutes later, side-footing home his fourth goal of the campaign following Mauricio Prado's cross.

"We weren't bold enough in the first half and struggled to have shots on target," Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira told reporters after the match.

"After halftime we changed our approach. Their goal set us back but we showed our fighting spirit by winning from the position that we were in. It's a credit to the players."

Palmeiras is now third in the 20-team standings with 36 points, four behind leaders Flamengo but with a game in hand.

In other fixtures on Sunday, Santos won 2-1 at Cruzeiro and Vasco da Gama was held to a 1-1 home draw by Atletico Mineiro.