Brazil 2 Croatia 0: Neymar makes stunning return from injury with stunning strike before Roberto Firmino added a second late on

NEYMAR made a stunning goal scoring return as Brazil kick-started their World Cup campaign by beating Croatia at Anfield.

PSG’S £198million star has been out with a foot injury since February and there were fears he may miss the showpiece in Russia.

But the Samba king, 26, came off the bench to smash home an unstoppable strike to get Brazil fans dreaming of a sixth World Cup triumph.

In an otherwise forgettable game, Neymar sparked the afternoon into life after 69 minutes with a wonderful solo strike which saw him beat two defenders before smashing home from close range.

And Liverpool favourite Roberto Firmino put the icing on the cake with a cheeky chip over the keeper in injury time.

Philippe Coutinho returned to Anfield for the first time since his £145million move to Barcelona in January, and Kop legend Kenny Dalglish warned Liverpool fans to stay away if they intended to boo the midfielder.

And he got a mixed reception at his old ground, with clear jeers every time he touched the ball early on as well as when he was substituted late on.

Coutinho, 25, went for the trademark spectacular whenever he got the ball, but the Barca man blazed well over twice in the first-half.

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Liverpool Dejan Lovren went closest to opening the scoring with a header from a corner in a poor first half in which Croatia were the better team.

The game livened up after the introduction of Neymar but it was Croatia who went closest, Ante Rebic forcing Roma keeper Alisson into a smart low save from a header.

Tite’s side were far from their best and rarely looked like scoring until Neymar stepped up to the mark.

After picking the ball up from Coutinho the 26-year-old bamboozled both Sime Vrsaljko and Mateo Kovacic on the left side of the box before rifling into the roof of the net.

Midfielder Fred came on late on for Brazil and looked tidy in his brief appearance.

He is due to have a medical at Manchester United tomorrow ahead of a £55m move from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The game understandably lacked the intensity of a full blown international and Brazil were well off the pace for most of it.

But they will back themselves to come to the boil at the right time and lay to rest the demons of 2014 when they were humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals in their own back yard.

And if there is one thing to put a smile on the face of all Brazilians, the sight of Neymar back scoring in the gold and green should do it.