The Al-Hilal star solidified his spot in the record books in a lopsided win for the Selecao in World Cup qualifying
The moment seemed to have passed him by. With a chance to finally move above the almighty Pele as Brazil's all-time record goal-scorer, Neymar stepped up to the spot. He missed, rolling a tame effort right at Guillermo Viscarra following his trademark slow penalty run-up.
It turned out that Neymar's ascension would only be delayed by minutes, though – not days or weeks. With his 78th goal, Neymar passed Pele's goal tally to become the Selecao's best of the best before netting his 79th later for good measure. The big moment came in a lopsided 5-1 win over Bolivia, which saw Brazil get their World Cup qualifying campaign off to the perfect start.
It wasn't just Neymar, though. To be fair, the Al-Hilal star may not have even been Brazil's best attacker. Rodrygo takes home those honours, scoring twice while assisting another. It was a dominant attacking display, as expected for Brazil, but this one will prove memorable thanks to Neymar, who now finds himself all alone atop the goal-scoring charts.
GOAL rates Brazil's players from the Estadio Estadual Jornalista Edgar Augusto Proenca…
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence
Ederson (6/10):
100 percent pass accuracy, which is about all he had to do for most of the game. Had to make two late saves, and may feel he could have done better on the goal.
Danilo (6/10):
Got forward better than Lodi, creating a few decent chances from the right-hand side.
Marquinhos (6/10):
Not quite as noticeable as his defensive partner, but he didn't have to be as Bolivia never threatened.
Gabriel Magalhaes (7/10):
Very good on the ball and mopped up when needed. Solid performance from the Arsenal star.
Renan Lodi (6/10):
Perhaps should have drawn a penalty early on, but got no call. Was fairly quiet other than that.
AdvertisementGettyMidfield
Bruno Guimares (8/10):
A monster in the midfield. Didn't misplace a pass across his 71 minutes, creating two chances while winning the ball back several times. A complete performance.
Casemiro (7/10):
Good, but not quite as good as Guimares. No shame in that, though, as he helped keep Bolivia relatively quiet.
Pedro Vilela/Getty ImagesAttack
Rodrygo (9/10):
A dominant display from the Real Madrid man. Got two goals and set up another in a pretty clear man of the match performance.
Neymar (9/10):
Missed the penalty, but was very good other than that. All that matters is the record goal, though, and he went out and got it while adding another in stoppage time for good measure.
Raphinha (8/10):
Fantastic finish from Neymar's assist. Will be overshadowed a bit by the other two, but was every bit as good.
Richarlison (4/10):
Very, very quiet day from the Tottenham man. Just 15 touches overall and never really got involved while the other attackers around him were all buzzing and skied a great chance.
GettySubs & Manager
Matheus Cunha (5/10):
Came on with about 20 minutes left and didn't get going with the game already out of hand.
Joelinton (6/10):
Replaced his club team-mate Guimaraes in midfield, but missed his one big chance.
Caio Henrique (5/10):
Was at least partially at fault on the goal as he couldn't stop Victor Abrego's run.
Roger Ibanez (N/A):
Came on late to replace Gabriel.
Gabriel Jesus (N/A):
A few minutes as a cameo as Rodrygo was taken off to celebrate a job well done.
Fernando Diniz (7/10):
Hard to mess this up, but got things right on this day. It's difficult to pick too many faults after such a one-sided victory.