Neymar scores two penalties to rescue late draw for Santos against Flamengo

Five minutes. That was all Flamengo needed to turn an even first half into a two-goal cushion at the break. And yet it wasn't enough. Santos and Flamengo drew 2-2 in a match that started as Mengão's to lose and ended with the signature of an old friend of the house: Neymar.

The clash, part of matchday 29 of the Brasileirao, had been fairly uneventful until the visitors stepped on the gas near the end of the first half. In that final stretch, Danilo and Lucas Paqueta struck to make it 2-0 and send their side into the locker room feeling the match was all but settled.

But soccer, especially with Neymar involved, has a way of flipping the script. Ney himself came on in the second half and changed the complexion of Santos's game. The play that opened the door was a controversial sending off: Jorginho saw red, leaving Flamengo down a man and gifting the home side a penalty that Neymar made count. The hosts pulled one back, and suddenly the game was wide open again.

With the clock working against them and defeat seemingly inevitable, another penalty arrived. And once again, the same man stepped up: Neymar made it 2-2 from the spot, completing a brace that carries extra meaning for him. With those two goals, he reached 160 goals wearing the Santos jersey, the club where he first made his name.

The draw also snaps a run for Flamengo, who had arrived hoping to extend their strong form in the domestic league and fell just short of a notable mark: they couldn't secure their fifth straight win in the Brasileirao.

Mengão's schedule doesn't let up. Their next big test comes on Thursday the 15th, when they host Estudiantes de La Plata in the semifinals of the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores. But first, on Sunday, there's a Rio derby against Fluminense at the Maracana, a match that always carries extra weight beyond the points on offer.

For Santos, meanwhile, the value of the point is more about morale: salvaging a draw against a rival that had gone up two goals, and doing it with Neymar as the headline act, is something they know how to appreciate at Vila Belmiro, regardless of how the Brasileirao standings continue to shake out.