Santos forward Neymar scored his first league goal of the season against league leaders Flamengo on Wednesday and proclaimed the triumph as “a new beginning.”

The Brazil forward, who had turned down the chance to play at the FIFA Club World Cup with Fluminense to focus on his fitness, played against Flamengo for the entire game and scored its only goal in the 84th minute.

“I’m really happy to be able to contribute in every way, both in attack and defense,” Neymar said. “In my opinion, Flamengo is the best team in the league. It’s a new beginning for us. We showed that we can play against any team in the Brasileirão.”

Neymar was particularly thrilled to play all 90 minutes for Santos for the first time since Feb. 23. Recurring muscular problems had limited Neymar since returning to boyhood club Santos earlier this year after terminating his contract with Al Hilal.

“I want to play every game for 90 minutes,” he said.

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“I’m not 100%, but I’m getting better every day. I want to be in better shape, and that takes time. Both playing and training. My body is still adapting, getting used to everything again. It’s not easy to deal with the injury I had.”

Neymar spent much of his time in Saudi Arabia on the sidelines due to an ACL injury he sustained while on international duty with Brazil in October 2023.

He has yet to make his long-awaited return to the Brazil national team.

Neymar recently signed a contract extension with Santos until the end of the year, with an option to extend it through the 2026 World Cup.