The Brazilian superstar was on the pitch Wednesday night against Mirassol. An eventful encounter: he opened the scoring after just four minutes, before offering his Serie A opponents the opportunity to equalize.
Relegation zone: Neymar tries to save Santos
Going from hero to pariah status in the space of an hour, Neymar allowed Santos to snatch a precious point. The match against Mirassol ended in a 1-1 draw. This home draw keeps them a whisker from the relegation zone, but they remain one point ahead of Vitoria.
Santos occupies 16th place in the ranking, and maintenance is more than compromised. They only have four games left this season. Neymar will be keen to keep them in Serie A, while his future remains uncertain.
Eventful match: Neymar scores and concedes a penalty
The 33-year-old returned to his roots in January, signing a second spell with his formative club following the termination of his lucrative contract with Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. After twelve months of absence following a cruciate ligament rupture, injuries were difficult to overcome in South America.
Neymar, however, has featured in Santos’ last four games and remains a key part of the team. He gave his team a perfect start against Mirassol. He also felt he deserved a penalty after the foul on Alvaro Barreal in the area. The referee awarded a penalty, but Santos’ Argentine striker was offside.
Neymar was then involved in another contentious action on the hour mark. Reinaldo fell under pressure from Neymar, who attempted a foot strike well after the ball had gone out. The referee was called to watch the action on the control screen.
He concluded that Neymar’s intervention was dangerous and poorly controlled, his shot having slipped between Reinaldo’s legs. The Mirassol full-back then faced the goalkeeper and, despite a slight deviation from Gabriel Brazao, managed to equalize.
Neymar’s apologies after the penalty conceded
The match ended in a draw, meaning points were shared. Satisfied with this result, Neymar nevertheless made a point of apologizing on social networks for the penalty conceded, raising new questions about refereeing in Brazilian football.
He posted on Instagram: “ We are facing one of the best teams in the championship… We gave everything to try to win and I think we fully deserved it. Congratulations to the team and supporters who once again made this evening an unforgettable moment! We continue together in this final straight, every point, every detail will count!
Note: sorry for the penalty… There are so many different criteria that I don’t even know what to say, accept it! THE FIGHT CONTINUES, GO SANTOS!! »
