Neymar He almost scored two great goals in his first game after almost two months out due to injury, but it did not prevent Santos from being defeated 3-2 by the Flamengo for him Brazilian Championshipand ended up starring in controversies for his criticism of the referee and for angrily protesting when he was substituted.
The former player of Barcelona disputed in the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro his first game as a starter since September 14 after overcoming another of the numerous injuries that have prevented him from having continuity since his return to Brazil last January.
The Brazilian team’s top scorer is fighting to return to the Canarinha and be able to play in the 2026 World Cup, but, with few games since returning to Santos, he has not convinced coach Carlo Ancelotti, who made it clear that he will only call him up if he is in perfect condition.
Neymar He even encouraged the Santos fans with two plays in the first half that almost turned into goals.
At the beginning of the match he almost opened the scoring by throwing himself into the area as if it were a swimming pool to finish off a shot from the right by the Argentine midfielder with his head. Alvaro Barreal. But his header passed to the right of the goal defended by Argentine Agustín Rossi.
At the end of the second half, Neymar He took a foul and almost surprised Rossi and opened the scoring, but the Argentine did his best to save the ball.
The former Barcelona and PSG attacker, whose physical condition still leaves much to be desired, was lost in the second half against an overwhelming Flamengo and ended up replaced five minutes from the end of the match, when the locals won 3-0, by the Argentine attacker Benjamín Rollheiser.
SaintsSurprisingly, he reacted at the end of the match, now without Neymar on the field, and almost achieved a draw in the Maracaná against a Flamengo that is second in the League standings and a finalist in the Copa Libertadores.
After the goals from Léo Pereira, the Colombian Jorge Carrascal and Bruno Henrique in what seemed like a new victory for the Rio team, Santos pulled one back with goals from Gabriel Bontempo and the Argentine Lautaro Díaz in the last five minutes.
Without showing much in the game, Neymar ended up starring in two controversies off the field.
The first for the statements he gave in the interval in which he accused the referee Sávio Pereira Sampaio of being a terrible referee, as well as “arrogant”, and of having shown him a yellow after having “threatened” so that he wouldn’t get close to him.
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The other controversy involved him being replaced by the Argentine coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda. After making his anger evident at the substitution, Neymar did not even go to the bench to watch the rest of the game with his teammates but instead went directly to the locker room.
The defeat plunged Santos even further into the last four of the standings, which are punished with relegation, with only five games left in the League.
