Rio de Janeiro, Feb 16 (IANS) In the first game of the Libertadores Cup football, defending champions Santos lost 1-2 on the road against Bolivia's Strongest FC.
Before leaving for Bolivia, Santos' star striker Neymar scored three goals in his team's 4-1 come-from-behind victory against Botafogo-SP in the Sao Paulo state championship.
After the match, the 20-year-old declared his hunger to score more goals and improve his play, Xinhua reported.
However, Neymar and the rest of his team did not play up to par and suffered a loss in the final minutes.
During the last 20 minutes, Santos appeared to have run out of gas and could not keep up with the Bolivians, leading to their defeat.
Santos will look to earn their first victory of the Libertadores at home March 8 against compatriots Internacional.