Neymar scored his first goal for Santos since returning to Brazil, converting a penalty in the 14th minute of a 3-1 victory over São Paulo-based Água Santa on Sunday in the São Paulo state championship.
The goal provided a measure of relief for the 33-year-old star, who has faced a challenging restart. Thaciano added a goal in the 26th minute, and Guilherme rounded out the scoring in the 70th, assisted by Neymar.
Neymar has yet to play a full 90 minutes since rejoining Santos, with his performances falling below expectations in his first three matches. However, he showed signs of improvement Sunday as he continues to recover from a knee injury.
The Brazilian forward officially returned to soccer in October after a yearlong absence. Last month, he confirmed that his contract with Saudi club Al-Hilal had been terminated by mutual consent following an injury-marred spell in which he played just seven matches and scored once.
Neymar has signed a six-month contract with Santos, with the possibility of an extension. In his first professional stint with the club from 2009 to 2013, he scored 138 goals in 225 official matches.
He became the most expensive player in soccer history when he transferred from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for 222 million euros (then $262 million) in 2017. Neymar joined Al-Hilal in 2023 for 90 million euros ($94 million).