- The number 10 created both goals in the comeback against Macará: the left-footed assist for Gabigol's 100th goal and the corner that Willian Arão turned into the 2-1.
- He ended the first half with sharp pain in his left leg that had everyone fearing the worst, returned for the second half and shone.
There are nights when a footballer doesn't need to score to own everything. Thursday's at Vila Belmiro was one of them: Neymar created both goals in Santos' comeback against Macará in the first leg of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Round of 16, starred in the scare that silenced the stadium, and still had breath left to force the save of the night with the final ball. The 2-1 bears the signatures of Gabigol and Willian Arão, but the pulse of the game was set by the 10.
His first piece of work came in the 44th minute of the first half, with the 'Peixe' chasing an equalizer against an opponent that had struck early. Neymar received with his back to the box and resolved it with a first-time, left-footed assist over the defense, a pass that left Gabigol facing goal for the subtle touch that made it 1-1. The goal carried historic weight: it was the number 9's 100th in a Santos shirt.
What few knew amid that celebration is that Neymar's night had been one movement away from ending. Near the close of the first half, with no opponents nearby, his left leg caught in the turf and the pain left him on the ground, with gestures that raised fears of a serious injury. The context magnified the concern: Santos had already lost Gabriel Menino (25th minute of the first half) and Gabriel Bontempo (42nd minute of the first half) to injury, and the 10 loomed as the third starter lost before the break. But Neymar got back up, returned for the second half and turned relief into epic: instead of managing himself, he took command.
The second half was his from start to finish. Offside calls wiped out two Gabigol goals — one of them also created by a pass from the 10 — until, in the 31st minute of the second half, the insistence found its reward with a set-piece stamp: Neymar placed his corner right onto Willian Arão's right foot for the 2-1. And as the game was dying, he almost signed the complete masterpiece: his free kick was heading into Rodrigo Rodríguez's top-right corner before the goalkeeper, unhesitant, played the villain on São Paulo soil.
His numbers in the 2026 Sudamericana explain why Santos breathes differently when the ball runs through his left foot: two goals and two assists, with a detail that captures his instinct: both of his goals, each against Recoleta in the Group Stage, came in the 3rd and 4th minutes of the first half. When Neymar decides to show up, he beats everyone to the punch.
The tournament also carries a special flavor for him. It is only the second CONMEBOL Sudamericana of his career, 16 years after his first, back in 2010, also in the 'Peixe' shirt. At 34, the champion of the 2011 CONMEBOL Libertadores and the 2012 Recopa Sudamericana is chasing the only continental club crown missing from his collection: La Gran Conquista. That is why every night like this one at Vila Belmiro counts double.
The tie now travels to the 2,500 meters of Ambato with Santos holding the slimmest of leads and one certainty that goes beyond altitude: if Santos want to be among the tournament's last eight, their path runs through the left foot — and the resilience — of their number 10.
