Gabigol rediscovers edge at Santos, aims to move past penalty miss without Neymar | OneFootball

Gabigol is back in form for Santos, producing three goals and two assists in his last three games despite a costly Copa Sudamericana penalty miss.

According to Globo.com, the surge follows a flat start to the second half of the year.

Across that spell he scored three in 10 and created none.

He struck twice in the 3-2 win at Internacional, ending an 18-year wait for a Beira-Rio victory.

Against Atlético-MG in the Sudamericana quarter-finals, he set up Willian Arão and Christian Oliva in the 2-0 first leg. In the return at the Arena MRV he scored in a 4-2 defeat, then missed as Santos lost the shootout 3-1.

His purple patch has coincided with number 10 Neymar's absence, a grade 2B right rectus femoris injury sustained against Palmeiras in the Copa do Brasil, which was Neymar's last game before this run.

A similar spell came earlier, when Neymar departed to join Brazil before the World Cup. Over the next four matches Gabigol delivered five goals and two assists, helping Santos finish second in Sudamericana Group D and stay clear of the relegation zone before the pause.

This season he has 41 games, 20 goals and nine assists, already surpassing the club's last two leading marks and nearing Marcos Leonardo's 21 in 2022 and 2023. He is joint seventh in Brasileirão scoring with Túlio Maravilha on 129, one behind Diego Souza and six short of Zico, with Roberto Dinamite top on 190.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”