The fans celebrated when the number 10’s name was announced in the lineup and every time the star touched the ball, cell phones were taken out of their pockets to film a possible brilliant move.
With all eyes on Neymar, the Santos had a morning to forget and was defeated 3-0 by Coritibathis Sunday, in a match in the 16th round of the Brazilian Championship. In the last match before , the number 10 was not very effective and, after a discreet performance, ended up being replaced after a refereeing mess. Former Palmeiras native Breno Lopes overshadowed the star and was the big name of the match, scoring two goals, suffering the penalty that resulted in the third and also causing an expulsion.
As a result, the Santos remains at 18 points and remains close to the relegation zone. Coritiba is now at 23 and is approaching the top of the leaderboard.
Aware of all the appeal that this Sunday’s match would have, the Santos board decided to send the match to the Neo Química Arena, Corinthians’ stadium, whose capacity of over 45 thousand people would transform the duel with Coritiba into the perfect setting for Neymar to shine. The fans celebrated when the number 10’s name was announced in the lineup and every time the star touched the ball, cell phones were taken out of their pockets to film a possible brilliant move.
Neymar demonstrated his participation from the first minutes. In the 4-4-2 used by coach Cuca, the playmaker falls on the left side, but has the freedom to “float” in different parts of the field. The Santos captain looked for effective plays with heel touches and excited the crowd when he made a beautiful shot, but without being able to finish. In the chance he had in the initial stage, he isolated.
Coritiba, who had nothing to do with Neymar’s call-up, seemed to have learned from their elimination in the Copa do Brasil against Santos and was lethal. The team from Paraná proved to be tactically applied and was efficient when Cuca’s team gave an opening. At five minutes, striker Breno Lopesscorer of Palmeiras’ goal against Santos in the 2020 Libertadores final, advanced freely from midfield and hit goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão to score. At 23, the number 77 only had the job of pushing it into the net after Coritiba made use of another lack of attention from the defense to enter the area with superiority and extend the score.
With the score largely unfavorable, Santos began to rush and missed even more passes. Well marked, Neymar tried to follow up the plays with first-time touches, but when he didn’t make the pass correctly, he was stopped for a foul. It was also common to see the number 10 taking the ball backwards in an attempt to “clear” the plays, but the collective did not help – full-back Mayke, heavily booed, gave way to midfielder Oliva in the first half. midfielder Joshuaone of Coritiba’s best in the match, did the thirdat 37, on a penalty kick after full-back Escobar brought down Breno Lopes in the area. Brazão still avoided what would have been the fourth after another counterattack.
Santos returned for the second half with three changes, including the entry of Gabigol. Defender Luan Peres, who also came on during the break, was knocked out after receiving a ball to the head and the ambulance had to enter the pitch to treat the athlete. He got up and talked to the doctors, but was replaced by young João Ananias.
The changes made Santos more compact and, with the players closer to each other, Neymar managed to play with his teammates and “hide” from the marking to receive passes in better conditions. Even so, the number 10 had difficulty overcoming Coritiba’s block. When he tried to take off, he was unable to cross effectively. When he found Gabigol, the number 9 shot out.
At 18 minutes, Neymar went to the edge of the pitch to receive a massage on his right calf. Two minutes later, the referee was involved in a mess: the fourth referee Bruno Mota Correia raised the sign with number 10, indicating the entry of Robinho Jr. in place of Neymar. The technical committee complained and said that it would actually be Escobar who would leave, showing the official paper to referee Paulo Cesar Zanovelli da Silva. The star refused to leave, complained a lot and was warned with a yellow card. According to the rule, the change could not be undone after the substitute entered the field.
The ball started rolling again after five minutes of stoppage and things continued to be bad for Santos. Barreal, another player who came on at half-time, was sent off in the 27th minute for a tackle on Breno Lopes, who was advancing freely on the left. Robinho Jr. still had a clear chance to reduce the score, but after the red card, Coritiba had the peace of mind to play patiently and maintain the result until the final whistle.
SANTOS 0 X 3 CORITIBA
SANTOS – Gabriel Brazão; Mayke (Oliva), Lucas Veríssimo, Adonis Frías and Escobar; Willian Arão (Barreal), Gustavo Henrique (Luan Peres and later João Ananias), Gabriel Bontempo and Rollheiser; Moisés (Gabigol) and Neymar (Robinho Jr.). Coach: Cuca.
CORITIBA – Pedro Rangel; Lucas Taverna (Wallisson), Tiago Cóser, Rodrigo Moledo and Bruno Melo; Thiago Santos (Vini Paulista), Sebastián Gómez and Josué (Gustavo); Pedro Rocha (Renato Marques), Lavega (Willian Oliveira) and Breno Lopes (David). Coach: Fernando Seabra.
REFEREE – Paulo Cesar Zanovelli da Silva (MG)
GOALS – Breno Lopes, at 5 and 23, and Josué, at 37 in the first half
YELLOW CARDS – Escobar, João Ananias, Neymar and Gabigol (Santos); Lucas Taverna (Coritiba)
RED CARD – Barreal (Santos)
AUDIENCE – 45. 360
INCOME – R$ 3,022,470.00
LOCATION – Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo (SP)
