Neymar rolled back the years with a skill move that forced FIFA to change their rules on run-ups – and it almost worked.
The 33-year-old former Barcelona and PSG forward, who now plays for boyhood club Santos, made his much-anticipated return against Fortaleza following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with injury.
He came off the bench on Saturday to a rapturous reception from the Estadio Urbano Caldeira faithful, replacing Victor Hugo in the 67th minute.
A short time later, an own goal from Fortaleza's Bruno Pacheco levelled the tie and, with 15 minutes remaining, a rejuvenated Santos pushed for a much-needed three points following their recent struggles.
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In fact, just seconds into stoppage time, Neymar almost scored the winner after attempting a Paradinha free-kick.
Paradinha, a term that means "little stop" in Portuguese, was made famous by Pele in the 1970s and was designed to try and disrupt a goalkeeper's timing.
As seen in the footage below, Neymar takes a normal run-up before stopping just in front of the ball. He then pretends to shoot, leading the Fortaleza wall to jump prematurely, before hitting the ball with his next attempt.
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On this occasion, Neymar's shot was saved, but fans were still loving the audacious attempt.
One said: "Neymar Jr. at his creative best," while another commented: "Bro always invents his own techniques." A third added: "Nahh that’s wild how you pump faking a whole wall????"
As mentioned above, this isn't the first time Neymar has pulled off the Paradinha. He would often use the technique while taking penalties during his first spell at Santos, although the feint-style run-up was eventually banned from 12 yards.
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FIFA described the penalty technique as 'unsporting' and changed the law so that players are unable to stop running before striking the ball.
A document released by FIFA at the time of the ruling stated: "Feinting to kick the ball once the player has completed his run-up is considered an infringement of Law 14 and an act of unsporting behaviour for which the player must be cautioned."
You can see some of those penalty kicks below.
Thoughts on the technique? Let us know in the comments.
Jack Kenmare