Neymar: Goal was like a video game

Santos star Neymar could not hide his joy after a wonderful hat-trick downed Internacional in Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores clash.

The 20-year-old forward netted his first goals of the 2012 Copa in a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapid, which earned Santos their first points in Group 1 after opening with defeat against The Strongest.

After first converting from the penalty spot, the youngster then electrified the home crowd with two solo efforts that began near the halfway line.

His second saw him reach a top speed of 31kph with the ball at his feet, leave five Inter players stranded and cover a total of 65 metres. Speaking after the game, Neymar admitted that he would struggle to ever match such a strike.

“I could never score a goal like that even in a video game, because you have to touch the ball so quickly,” Neymar told TVGlobo.

“I need to watch on the television to understand exactly what I did in the goals. I only know that I was running, dribbling and when I looked up, I had the goal in front of me.”

Neymar’s efforts were overshadowed by Lionel Messi’s incredible five-goal haul for Barcelona on Wednesday, but the Brazilian said he hoped the Argentine continued to shine.

“I am a Messi fan, I know what he achieved but I only saw one goal (of the five against Bayer Leverkusen),” he said. “I cheer him on to keep scoring goals, so that I can continue to copy him.”

Santos and Inter are now tied in second place in Group 1, behind The Strongest who have taken the maximum six points so far.