Santos – Cruzeiro: Neymar rises like a phoenix and unlikely heroes save Santos from relegation (3-0)

Santos is a historic team, the club that revealed legends like Pelé, which this year saw the heir to the number ten shirt, Neymar, return to the place where he emerged into international football. Physical and emotional decline made Neymar go through a turbulent year, but at the most crucial moment of the season, he rose from the ashes like a phoenix and what seemed unlikely became real: Santos escaped relegation with the support of one of the greatest idols in its history, on the final matchday of the Brasileirão.

Tactical analysis and match report by Marcus Arboés.

With a win, Santos would secure itself in the first division of the 2026 Brasileirão, but that was only possible thanks to a positive sequence of results in which Neymar played a leading role. To complete this late-season rise in the final minutes of the championship, Vojvoda lined up the team with Brazão (former Internazionale) in goal, Igor Vinícius as right fullback, Frias and Zé Ivaldo as center-backs and Souza as left fullback, Willian Arão (former Fenerbahçe) and João Schmidt as holding midfielders, Guilherme and Barreal on the wings, Neymar as the number ten and Thaciano improvised as striker, a role he had already played in his career.

Cruzeiro, on the other hand, had practically ended its participation in the Brasileirão, sitting in third place with no risk of being overtaken by Mirassol. Considering they had the Copa do Brasil semifinals the following week, Leonardo Jardim decided to field a fully rotated squad: Leonrado in goal, Fagner (former Brazil National Team), João Marcos, Jonathan Jesus and Kaua Prates in the defensive line, Walace (former Udinese) and Matheus Henrique (former Sassuolo) as midfielders and Carlos Eduardo as an attacking midfielder. The young Japa and Lélis played on the wings, while Gabi (former Internazionale and Benfica), who began his career at Santos, started up front as striker.

Santos’ tactical highlights

With a full-strength lineup against a reserve team, Vojvoda could have escaped relegation even with an unfavorable result, but the win did not seem impossible, nor distant, especially because Santos came into the match unbeaten in its last five games, having beaten Palmeiras, Sport and Juventude. Since the loss to Flamengo, the team had already shown values that suggested it was possible to escape a traumatic year, and those improvements evolved further and were crucial in this victory.

Santos pressing high in a 4-1-3-2 shape, applying man-oriented pressure on Cruzeiro’s buildup.

There are two main merits in Santos’ performance. The first was their ability to stop Cruzeiro’s fast attacks, even starting from the first phase of buildup. Leo Jardim’s team usually builds in a 4-2-3-1 or an asymmetric 4-3-3 shape, with the three midfielders positioned at different heights and the winger on the side of the buildup dropping to support. The idea is to progress short and fast, on the ground.

To stop this, Santos pressed high with a man-oriented approach from a 4-1-3-2 shape, with Neymar and Thaciano in the first line, the wingers and João Schmidt pressing their individual matchups, and Arão protecting the space behind the second line. This helped the team react well to Cruzeiro’s supporting movements and also left the depth less protected, which did not matter because this team does not usually progress through depth.

Cruzeiro’s relational attack in a 4-2-3-1 outline, using central combinations against Santos’ 4-4-1-1 defensive formation.

In a low block, depth becomes a target for Cruzeiro, who use combination play to create advantages behind the last line through height manipulation and gaps between defenders. The idea was to start the play wide, with midfielders connecting with the fullback and the wingers drifting inside. Gabi functioned as a target to serve as a second man, creating a wall pass for the wingers to attack space, but Santos’ last-line coordination was key to the victory. This scenario was more common in the second half.

Between the first and second halves, Cruzeiro had three goals disallowed for offside due to Santos’ defensive behavior, which had been one of the most important qualities developed under Vojvoda. They avoided conceding three goals and scored three, which was the necessary count to win and escape relegation once and for all.

Santos attacking in a 3-2-5 formation, with Igor Vinícius pushing high on the outside lane and Neymar alternating between floating at the edge of the box and dropping to help in buildup.

The most common scenario of the first half, although Santos’ defense deserves mention, occurred when the team had the ball. The side showed great improvement compared to previous phases. Willian Arão initiated the buildup close to the two center-backs. If not him, João Schmidt dropped on the right or Souza on the left, but the buildup always started with a back three. This created a last line with Guilherme wide on the left, Neymar free inside, Thaciano as striker and Barreal alternating between the outside and inside lanes on the right, based on a 3-2-5 positional shape.

In some situations, the midfield became outnumbered, so Neymar dropped to help unlock the buildup. However, his main role was as an offensive facilitator, providing support. In fact, he delivered the pre-assist in Thaciano’s second goal in the first half, in a play where he used his positional freedom at the edge of the box to serve Igor Vinícius attacking the depth. We are seeing a simpler, more efficient Neymar, conscious of his current limitations.

The unlikely heroes

Neymar was directly responsible for this rise. The former PSG and Barcelona star returned from injury in early November and played two good matches against Palmeiras and Fortaleza. After that, he was decisive in the draw against Mirassol, playing well, but committing the penalty that tied the game. The problem is that after that slip, several reports claimed Neymar had suffered a serious injury and would miss the rest of the season, likely unable to help Santos fight relegation.

Despite all the turbulence caused by alarming news of another injury, Neymar was included in the squad against Sport after missing the match against Internacional, leaving fans confused. From what was understood, playing through pain, Neymar played the final three matches of the season: scoring a goal and an assist against Sport and a hat-trick against Juventude. Even though he is the idol and hero of the campaign, the heroes of this match were others, and far more unlikely.

Santos scoring from a crossing play exploiting the spacing inside Cruzeiro’s poorly coordinated zonal marking on the corner kick.

Thaciano had been heavily criticized by the fans for rarely playing well when used. Guilherme was also constantly attacked, booed and heard the stands ask for his substitution. If you asked fans which players would be decisive in the final game of the year, they probably would not mention these two. Vojvoda was heavily criticized for starting Thaciano, but he scored the first goal with a header and minutes later the second, giving Santos a great advantage still in the first half.

However, the best player on the pitch ended up being Guilherme, the team’s left winger. He had been the main player in Santos’ 2024 second division campaign, which secured promotion, but his level dropped significantly in 2025. Constantly asked to be subbed off, Guilherme delivered two assists from corner kicks. Strategically, Santos exploited the fragility of Cruzeiro’s disorganized zonal marking of the reserve team.

Understanding Cruzeiro’s zonal marking pattern: three players protect the area in front of the goalkeeper, while one protects the far post. In front of the six-yard box, three players stood at short distances to protect the spaces. Meanwhile, the three attackers marked Santos’ three players positioned at the edge of the box, in individual matchups. The idea was to attack the spaces in front of each marker from above, usually using Willian Arão as a decoy. Both goals, from Thaciano and João Schmidt, came from the same spot, which is a credit to Guilherme.

Takeaways

Santos managed to avoid relegation and despite the turbulence and an extremely complicated year on and off the pitch, Neymar fulfilled his role as a hero after returning, but this does not mean it is enough for him to play the 2026 World Cup. In the end, with the final results of the Brasileirão, Ceará and Fortaleza were relegated along with Sport and Juventude. Next year, Athletico Paranaense, Coritiba, Remo and Chapecoense will join the first division.

On the other hand, at the top of the table, the heavy defeat did not affect Cruzeiro’s position. They even fought for the title at some point but finished in third and secured a spot in the 2026 Libertadores Cup. Their season is not over yet, as they face Corinthians today in the Copa do Brasil semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Fluminense, who also secured a direct Libertadores spot, face Vasco, coached by Fernando Diniz, who saw his reserve team get thrashed in the last round and miss out on international competitions.