Neymar's anger over the field, Palmeiras' harsh criticism: 'The solution to a bad field is to build a good field'

Three injuries in one match. One of them is Neymar. After leaving the field with an injury, the Brazilian star expressed his anger over the poor condition of Santos's field, Villa Belmiro. However, rival Palmeiras sees Neymar's complaints as an excuse. The club has hit back at Neymar by praising their field on social media.

Santos drew 0-0 with Palmeiras in the second leg of the Brazilian Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Neymar's team lost 3-0 in the first leg and went out with a 3-0 aggregate loss.

However, the condition of the field at Villa Belmiro and Santos' one after another injuries have been more discussed than the result of the match. Neymar left the field injured in the first half. At the same time, Santos winger Alvaro Bareil and defender Lucas Verissimo were injured. Neymar was also seen breaking down in tears as he left the field.

A day after the match, Neymar took to social media to criticize the groundskeepers, writing, "I want to congratulate whoever is in charge of the grounds at the Villa Belmiro Stadium."

He then made his anger more clear. Neymar alleged that the entire grounds were full of holes because they had worked on them the day before the match.

He said, "What I saw yesterday was the worst ground in the club's history. The entire ground was full of holes because they had worked on them the day before the match. Unbelievable! We had to fight against the ground as well as our opponents."

Neymar also claimed that the players had to take on extra physical pressure due to the poor condition of the ground. According to him, this is why three players left the field with injuries in the first half.

Palmeiras did not miss the opportunity after Neymar's comments. They praised the maintenance of their own ground, Nubank Park, and criticized Santos and Neymar.

Palmeiras said, "No matter what the day, the grass here is always perfect and free of holes. Because it is taken care of every day."

The club also claimed that a good field not only allows opponents to play good football, but also ensures that their players can run safely. In this regard, they also pointed out that Palmeiras players have suffered the fewest injuries in Serie A in the last five years.

Finally, Palmeiras responded more directly to Neymar's complaints—"The only solution to a bad field is to build a good field, it's simple."

After being eliminated in the Brazilian Cup, Santos is now going through a difficult time in the domestic league as well. The team is 14th in the league table, just four points away from the relegation zone.