Neymar held, on Sunday afternoon (9), the second match on his return to Santos. This time scheduled as a starter by coach Pedro Caixinha, the 33 -year -old striker had difficulty under the strong sun of Novo Horizonte, where the alvinegro team drew 0-0 with Novorizontino, for the eighth round of the Paulista Championship.
The player endured well the physical requirement of the match. As had happened last Wednesday (5), when he was on the field throughout the second half of the 1-1 draw with Botafogo-SP, surprised to stay on the lawn longer than imagined. He acted the 50 minutes of the first half and was replaced at 29 of the second.
It was not a great match of Santos, in front of the well -armed Novorizontino. Alvinegro had a good chance with Pituca, but overall had trouble creating a closed rival. Neymar started the game as a spearhead, behind the center forward Tiquinho Soares, but, packed by the marking, was retreating until established in the intermediate.
Conducting the ball, as its characteristic, suffered faults, but far from the goal, near the central circle. Far from the area, there were few moments when he established the dominance of the play in a region where he could be more dangerous. In one of them, he called Guilherme, who touched João Schmidt forcing goalkeeper Airton to make a good save.
According to the Sofascore statistics website, shirt 10 has played 54 times on the ball, hitting 22 of the 28 passes he tried, with no complete dribble in seven attacks against the defenders. His only finish in all confrontation at Jorge Ismael de Biasi stadium was a free kick at the barrier.
Neymar’s next step in Brazil will be the reunion with an old rival. Santos will play on Wednesday (12) against Corinthians, at Itaquera Stadium. It is expected that he can play the 90 minutes, something he can’t do since October 12, 2023, in a Brazilian draw with Venezuela, for the World Cup qualifiers.
In the next match, the ace suffered a severe injury to the left knee, with rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus. In the return to the lawns, he entered the field twice by Al Hilal, in a total of 42 minutes, suffered muscle injury and was eventually discarded by the Saudi club, which opened the door to return to Santos.
Now, the Mogi das Cruzes Paulista seeks to recover the old form, keeping an eye on the 2026 World Cup. The Santos fan is more in a hurry and also wants a quick response from the team, in a situation that is not comfortable in the state. With nine points in eight games, the team is in third place in Group C, outside the qualifying zone on the quarterfinals.
The contract signed by Neymar is short, lasting until June. Based on the deadline of this commitment, he will only play even the Paulista Championship for the club in which he was born for football. Alvinegros leaders are confident, however, that the partnership will be renewed at least until the middle of next year, when the World Cup will take place.
