On a decisive night for Santos, Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s team beat the already relegated Juventude 3-0, this Wednesday (3), at Alfredo Jaconi, in the 37th round of the Brasileirão.
With Neymar’s inspired performance, Peixe momentarily leaves the risk zone and jumps to 14th position, still with a mathematical chance of relegation.
The match started intensely. After four minutes, Neymar served Guilherme on the left, demanding a great save from Jandrei. Juventude, led by Thiago Carpini, responded with pressure on two corners and threatened again when Taliari received the ball in the area and crossed back, without anyone completing it. The home team gained possession of the ball and found the net at 27, in a beautiful play by their number 9, but the move was canceled for offside.
Santos alternated between good moments and waste. At 30, Neymar tried to surprise from midfield, and, in stoppage time, Peixe missed a crystal-clear counterattack in a play that went through Guilherme and Neymar, but ended without a finish. The first half was zero, although with opportunities for both sides.
The return of the break changed everything. With Santos more vertical, Neymar appeared free in the first minute and almost opened the scoring. At 10, there was no way: Barreal started the play on the right, Guilherme crossed and the number 10 arrived head on to make it 1-0.
Juventude felt the blow, and Santos accelerated. In the 19th minute, Igor Vinícius counterattacked and left Neymar in front of the goal. The shot went low, Jandrei missed and Peixe expanded.
At 25, Lautaro Díaz was held in the area, and Wilton Pereira Sampaio scored a penalty. Neymar scored with class, displacing the goalkeeper and completing the hat-trick in the 27th minute.
The stadium, already resigned to the Alviverde relegation, echoed chants from visiting fans and Santos vibes. Minutes later, number 10 left the field to a standing ovation from the bench, intensely celebrating the performance that kept the fight for permanence alive.
With 44 points, Santos closes the round outside of Z4, but it still depends on the final combination of results. The last commitment will be against , who should spare starters by prioritizing the semi-final of the Copa do Brasil.
