Neymar suffered a sickening head blow on his return to Brazil action after Colombia defender Davison Sanchez forced him face first into a pitch-side advertising board.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar made a goalscoring return by netting the equaliser for his nation but was then denied a penalty when he appeared to be pushed off the pitch by theTottenhamcenter-back.
TV replays showed the former Barcelona striker crashing head first into the advertising board before laying on the side of the pitch in pain.
Despite being denied what looked like a blatant penalty, fortunately the forward was able to pick himself up and he went on to play the full 90 minutes.
It was Neymar’s second-half strike that earned a draw for Brazil against Colombia as the wantaway PSG star made an impressive return to action.
The Brazilian had not played for club or country since injuring his right foot in a June friendly against Qatar, a heartbreaking setback that ultimately ruled him out of his nation’s victorious Copa America campaign.
Despite missing that successful triumph, the forward still had a busy summer as he attempted to push through a summer move.
Neymar leftBarcelonafor PSG back in 2017, in a world record £ 189 million switch, but was keen on a fresh start before the European summer transfer window slammed shut last Monday.
Although a move failed to materialize, the Brazilian was able to put the saga behind him by linking up with his international team-mates.
Indeed, it proved to be a memorable return to competitive action as the South American rivals played out an entertaining draw at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Luis Muriel became the first Colombian to score two goals against Brazil when he netted twice in the first half but goals from Casemiro and Neymar gave Brazil a deserved 2-2 draw in an entertaining match in Miami.
Brazil took the lead in the 20 th minute when Casemiro headed home a corner from Neymar, who was making his return to the national side after missing their victorious Copa America campaign.
Muriel equalized from the penalty spot six minutes later after Alec Sandro was penalized for a clumsy challenge, and he gave Colombia the lead 11 minutes before half time when he rifled high into the net from 10 meters out to finish off a superb team move.
Brazil improved in the second half and Neymar got them level after 58 minutes when he tapped in from close range after Philippe Coutinho had split the Colombian defense with a long pass.
In a game played without the use of VAR, Neymar had a strong penalty claim turned away with a quarter of an hour remaining when Sanchez forced him face first into pitch-side advertising but the referee waved the claim away and neither si de could get the winner.
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“It was a difficult game, but I think that we had more chances and we could have won,” said Brazil captain Dani Alves.
“But I think that a game at this level really could have gone either way. It’s left a bitter taste in our mouth.”
Brazil will now go to Los Angeles where they face Peru on Tuesday, while Colombia play Venezuela in Tampa the same night.
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