Brazilian media make their feelings clear on Neymar after first start back at Santos goes badly wrong
The Brazilian media have spoken out after Neymar's disastrous first start since his triumphant return to boyhood club Santos.
After a difficult spell with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, where he made only seven appearances despite joining for a fee of £77.6 million, Neymar returned to his boyhood club Santos last month.
The Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain impressed during his first appearance since returning to Brazil, as he came on as substitue during the 1-1 draw with Botafogo.
However, during his first start since coming back to Santos, it was a completely different story, and the Brazilian media have had their say.
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Wearing the No.10 shirt once worn by Pele Neymar started as captain for Santos' domestic league match against Novorizontino at the Jorjao stadium on Sunday.
Despite Neymar playing for 75 minutes of the match, the final score finished as a goalless draw, meaning Santos have been forced to split the points in two consecutive matches and taking them out of the league's qualifying zone.
Reacting to his performance in the match, Brazilian outlet Placar wrote: "Neymar, a star who was expected to shine, had a discreet performance.
"Expectations surrounding Neymar have not been translated into decisive plays. This type of performance by the Santos team could be a point of concern for the next games, since lethality in attack is essential."
While A Tribuna described the match as a "poor performance" from both Neymar and Santos as a whole.
Stats gathered by The Daily Mail revealed that the 33-year-old lost 24 balls, won just four out of 16 ground duels and managed only one successful dribble out of his eight attempts during his time in the match.
However, speaking after the game Santos manager Pedro Caixinha reiterated that he believes that his side can still win the league, and revealed that Neymar had played more than he was supposed to in the game, perhaps leading to the poor performance.
Speaking post-match, the Santos boss “We want him (Neymar) to have a sequence of games. The most important thing is that this sequence is well planned.
"Given the pace of the game and his positioning, he had 15 more minutes than planned. But is he in a rhythm of play? Not yet. He has a great desire and availability to do things and that is also evident."
Ben McCrum