ok rewatched it in the cool light of day.
It’s not like he didn't try but like Hamzah noted, he really looked kinda depressed and wasn't his usual perky self...
He had some good dashes, bringing the ball to striking distance and made a few key passes that could've been converted. Biggest negative last night for me is not even the failed tricks [though it was one of his worst displays ever lol] – I’m a fan so I'm cool with that – and when they work, they’re just wow.
What I noticed the most was his almost obsession with passing to Messi. Crazy stuff, 80% of the time, it's as if he ignored his other m8s
and the thing is, he doesn’t have to. Messi can at any point switch it on by himself.
and the other thing is, last night, Ney didn’t take a single shot at goal. That’s ZERO attempt until the last minute botched touch.
Case in point _ vid. times (not game):
01:49 Both Ney and Pistolero in front of the 2 defenders, plenty of space upfront. Why attempt to control the ball and let the defenders catch up??? Just nudge the ball forward and let Suarez shoot or assist you. Instant goal 9 times out of 10.
03:34 ok this one is not the worse. He passes to Leo who’s still in a scorable position (despite the 3 defenders) but a smarter play would’ve been unmarked in front of the net. Or the cocky Santos neyney would’ve naturally dribbled past the defender for a direct shot or short pass to Suarez or Bob if not offside.
42:47 Assist worked but was the lowest % and riskiest play
Santos Ney would’ve glided past No. 23 and taken the shot [even clearer at 42.55] or simple pass to open Denis S. / Raki / Luisito. No defenders for the 2 Suarez and just one for Raki. Instead, Ney tracks back and holds for Messi who needs to pull an amazing curve from the edge of the pen. Box through 3 defenders.
Luisito who was completely open on the right gets no love lol
05:02 Nice Mustache hehe
05:21 Valliant attempt. Pass to Messi was the best play on that one. Raki should’ve made a short pass to open Suarez in front of the net.
06:20 Had to wait till Suarez is onside. Ok pass the ball through the gap between the two defenders. Luisito has all the space in front of him to accelerate and beat the goalkeeper / or pass to Messi.
06.30 Santos Ney beats the defender and goes for goal. Again he goes for Messi who almost pulls off Puskas goal.
06.55 Santos Ney tries nutmeg and goes for goal or gets fouled for penalty. Instead he passes to unmarked Messi. This one was actually a smart paly but just mentioning it to illustrate the point that he made zero attempt at goal…
07.09 Nice pass from Leo. 5 Defenders lined up on penalty box line, pass to Suarez was a groovy play.
07.32 Nice chip to Leo. Good play.
07.38 Beat the defender and go for goal dammit! You can do it!!! But still smart pass to Leo who tries a one-two. Almost worked!
07:53 Lol or take the short-cut to Horatio’s post up above
08:04 aaaarghh!!! The OPEN SPACE. That couldn’t been NeySain Bolt time. So close but 23 did well here.
08.09 pass to Rafi would’ve been better…
08.30 Sigh. Touch was too heavy and goalkeeper anticipated well.
So there it is. Many say Ney is too selfish but I actually think he should go back to his cocky ol’ ways. Last night, it’s as though he made a promise to himself not to shine. That’s why my immediate impression was that he was playing with low confidence. Specially in contrast to Umtiti who was flowing with total Alpha freedom.
Think he'll bounce back in the next 2 Brazil games
--> 
