After a period of turmoil due to injuries at Al Hilal, Neymar returned to Santos with a burning desire to reclaim his glory. The player made a star-like entrance when he landed by helicopter at the stadium. Neymar also traveled to each Santos training session by helicopter.
{alt=”Neymar’s lackluster debut for Santos (Photo: Getty)”}
However, once on the field, Neymar did not meet expectations. The player entered the game in the second half during Santos’ match against Botafogo in the Campeonato Paulista at Vila Belmiro Stadium on February 6th.
At the time of Neymar’s entry, Santos was leading Botafogo 1-0 thanks to Tiquinho Soares’ goal in the 38th minute.
Just one minute after entering the field, Neymar had to lie on the ground following a hard collision with an opponent. Many were concerned that the Brazilian forward might face more injury issues, given his history of injuries in Saudi Arabia.
Fortunately, Neymar continued playing. In the 60th minute, the 33-year-old almost scored the opening goal. Neymar dribbled past two Botafogo players before taking a shot from just outside the penalty area. However, the Botafogo goalkeeper successfully saved it.
{alt=”Opponents carefully attend to Neymar (Photo: Getty)”}
This was Neymar’s only shot on target in the match. Statistics showed that the forward touched the ball 63 times but lost possession 15 times. Known as “Little Pele,” Neymar provided two key passes to his teammates. Notably, he was fouled the most on the pitch, totaling five fouls.
During Neymar’s time on the field, Santos not only failed to score but also conceded an equalizer to Botafogo in the 67th minute through Alexandre Jesus. In the 71st minute, Botafogo was reduced to ten men when Wallison received his second yellow card and was sent off. Santos dominated in the final minutes but could not find the back of the net.
With the 1-1 draw against Botafogo, Santos faces the risk of losing their top spot in Group B of the Campeonato Paulista. They currently have 8 points, one point ahead of Guarani, who have played one fewer game.
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