- Vasco da Gama thrashed Santos 6-0
- Coutinho scored a brace
- Santos’ worst defeat in the Brazilian Serie A
Lucas Piton opened the scoring for Vasco in the first half before David Correa da Fonseca doubled the team’s lead shortly after the break. Coutinho scored his first goal of the match in the 54th minute and Rayan then added a fourth to the team’s tally from the penalty spot. The ex-Aston Villa midfielder then completed his brace with a stunning chipped finish. Danilo Neves scored the final goal of the match in the 68th minute to rub salt in the wounds of Neymar and his despondent Santos colleagues.
This was Coutinho’s fourth appearance for Vasco da Gama since he made his transfer to the Brazilian side permanent from Aston Villa. The 33-year-old initially returned to his boyhood club on loan last summer, and has now scored 11 goals across all competitions in his second spell at São Januário.
Vasco da Gama’s triumph on Sunday marked their biggest win over Santos in the last 98 years. Before the clash, which saw Coutinho reunite with ex-Brazil team-mate Neymar, Vasco had gone five matches without a win, with their last victory coming against Sao Paulo on June 13. It is also the biggest Serie A defeat ever inflicted on Santos, who had previously never lost by a margin of more than four goals.
Coutinho will be back in action on August 20 when Vasco take on Juventude in their next Serie A outing. Vasco are now just two points behind 15th-placed Santos, who are due to take in a trip to Bahia four days later. Neymar will hope to bounce back strongly in that fixture after one of the most humiliating losses of his entire career.
