BACK WITH A BANG! Neymar returns with wonder goal
THE routine was just as you will have remembered: head bowed, hands pointing to heaven before blessing himself and breaking into a sprint.
It had been 98 days since Neymar last performed that pre-match ritual but here he was on the side of the pitch, in that famous No 10 shirt of Brazil, primed for action. The fear of the World Cup taking place without one of its biggest attractions was over.
During the 14 weeks since he broke his metatarsal in action for Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar has barely been off Instagram. His 94million followers have been afforded plenty of insights into his glitzy lifestyle but little idea of how his rehabilitation has progressed.
So there was one question chipping away: was he truly ready? In the 69th minute, having eased himself into the fray, the £197m man provided the answer in the most spectacular fashion.
After receiving a pass from Philippe Coutinho, Neymar began to dance. He scuttled into the penalty area, teasing the posse of Croatia defenders that tried to surround him: seven hypnotic touches and a shift of the hips later, three red-and-white shirts had been eliminated.
What happened next was quite majestic, Neymar thrashing a right-foot shot in off the underside of the crossbar, somehow getting the accuracy and elevation to beat goalkeeper Danijel Subasic from the corner of the six-yard box. Was he ready? It was as if he had never been away.
‘For the first match back I actually expected less from him,’ beamed Brazil head coach Tite. ‘I would have been happy with a quieter performance but what he did was really extraordinary.’
This epitomised all that is good about Brazil, the skill and the effortless samba style, in one devastating moment yet, ironically, it didn’t even illicit the biggest cheer of the day — that was reserved for local hero Roberto Firmino’s injury-time strike.
But the significance of this goal — Neymar’s 54th for Brazil — could not be lost. It was spectacular but also soothing, reassuring a nation that the man in whom so many dreams are entrusted will be close to his peak for Brazil’s World Cup opener against Switzerland.
If he reaches his peak, he could make this his tournament. He has history with the World Cup, having been carried off in the quarter-final success over Colombia four years ago, but is now primed to banish that memory.
‘ Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been up there on their own for so many years. I think it may be time for other players to aspire to be the best in the world — and the best at this World Cup, too,’ said Coutinho, who had to contend with some minor jeering on his first return to Anfield since his £146m move to Barcelona elona in January. ‘For me, (Mohamed) Salah and Neymar have serious chances to do that.’
Brazil are no one-man team but what Neymar does is elevate them to another level entirely. Before he had been introduced at half- time, they had struggled to break down Croatia’s defence, but Neymar transformed everything.
The first half had been instantly forgettable. Brazil — Willian apart — operated at a speed that was only just above training-ground level and Croatia actually had the best opportunity of the first half, when Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren crashed a header wide.
Once Neymar had been introduced, though, Brazil went through the gears and Croatia could not get out of their half; Neymar provided the crowning moment before Firmino raced on to a ball from Manchester City full back Danilo to lob Subasic.