Santos Vs Vasco Da Gama — Neymar decide com golaço e deixa Vasco na lanterna
The santos vs vasco da gama match ended 2-1 at Vila Belmiro as Neymar scored twice — the winner a second-half golaço — handing Santos its first victory in the Brasileirão and dropping Vasco to the bottom of the table.
Santos Vs Vasco Da Gama: Neymar settles it in the rain
Neymar opened the scoring at 24 minutes and sealed the win in the second half with a golaço described later as a cavadinha; the game was played under a heavy downpour at Vila Belmiro and finished 2-1. The result lifted Juan Pablo Vojvoda's side out of the bottom spot and out of the Z4, with Santos ending the 4th round in 13th place on 4 points, while Vasco fell to last with 1 point.
How both goals were built and the early chances
The first goal came from a counter led by Gabriel Bontempo: Neymar made the pivot, set up his teammate and then raced down the left; the ball reached Moisés, who drove at Barros and, instead of finishing, squared back to Neymar, who finished first-time past Léo Jardim. That strike was Neymar's first goal in 2026. Earlier, before 10 minutes, Santos had a chance after a Bontempo run but Moisés erred on the final pass; Vasco answered through Nuno Moreira but was denied by goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão inside the area.
Equalizer, key errors and the finish
Vasco leveled just before halftime after Miguelito — identified in the match text as Bolivian — mishandled a control, was dispossessed by Lucas Piton and failed to recover. Andrés Gómez then delivered a low cross that Barros finished into an empty net to make it 1-1. In the second half Neymar responded with the decisive finish, celebrated by dancing beside the corner flag in a move likened to Vinícius Jr.
On-field confrontations and bookings
Tensions flared repeatedly between Neymar and Thiago Mendes. The two exchanged words and were booked after an on-field argument, a flashpoint that recalled a previous 2020 incident that left Thiago Mendes injured. Neymar also spoke at halftime to Sportv, calling Mendes "um babaca" in the quoted exchange, and the two clashed again early in the second half near the touchline; Neymar said he had been struck, the referee stopped play and issued a warning.
Lineups, referees, broadcast and context going into the game
Before the match, Vojvoda had the full squad available and was expected to start Neymar alongside Gabriel Barbosa; a listed probable Santos lineup included Gabriel Brazão; Igor Vinicius, Adonis Frías, Luan Peres and Escobar; Willian Arão, Gabriel Menino, Gabriel Bontempo (Miguelito) and Neymar; Rony and Gabriel Barbosa. Vasco entered under interim coach Bruno Lazaroni after the dismissal of Fernando Diniz following a loss to Fluminense in the first leg of the Carioca semifinal; a probable Vasco XI listed Léo Jardim, Paulo Henrique, Saldivia, Robert Renan and Lucas Piton; Barros, Thiago Mendes and Rojas; Andrés Gómez, Spinelli and Marino Hinestroza (Nuno Moreira). Vasco had Cuesta and Jair sidelined by the medical department. The referee for the match was Rafael Rodrigo Klein (RS), with assistants Rafael da Silva Alves (RS) and Maira Mastella Moreira (RS), fourth official Iudiney Cesar Rocha E Silva (PI) and VAR Rodrigo D'Alonso Ferreira (SC). The fixture had been scheduled for Thursday at 19h (Brasília time) at Vila Belmiro and was set to be broadcast on Sportv and Premiere.
What comes next
Teams return to Brasileirão action in two weeks: Santos faces Mirassol in the interior paulista on day 10, and Vasco hosts Palmeiras in Rio two days later; before that, Vasco plays a classic against Fluminense this Sunday in the Carioca semifinal. The santos vs vasco da gama result leaves Santos with momentum from a first league victory and leaves Vasco searching for answers with just one point after four rounds.
