The star left the field somewhat upset. Interestingly, Santos scored two goals and reacted effectively immediately after the captain was replaced. Flamengo was already a bit lazy in the final stretch, after having controlled the game well until then.
On Neymar’s part, the mission was to be the most advanced player in the attack. A false 9, who sometimes retreated to find his teammates on the wings, Barreal and Guilherme.
If he has physical limitations, and his role without the ball hinders this, Neymar still knows how to find creative passes to bring danger to the opponent. Ironically, everything went so wrong for him at Maracanã that the most beautiful assist of the day was from Arrascaeta, in Fla’s 2-0 victory.
Neymar clearly wanted to have received more balls in a position to finish. He punched the air when he didn’t receive the pass in a Santos counterattack. And then he complained about it at half-time, when Santos was losing 1-0.
“We have to be more calm and in the final third we have to look for me more. That’s the only way we can score a goal. But we’re trying, we’re not playing badly,” he said.
In any case, Neymar’s header diving into the area was the most dangerous move that Santos created in the first half.
