Cristiano Ronaldo Was Denied The Best Assist Of His Career Vs Brighton

Cristiano Ronaldo was denied the best assist of his career against Brighton and Hove Albion.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner ended his six-game goal drought against the Seagulls to take his tally to 15 goals in 27 appearances during his second spell at Manchester United.

Ronaldo picked up the ball outside the box and unleashed a stunning strike past Robert Sanchez in the Brighton goal.

The Portuguese superstar refrained from celebrating with his usual 'SIUUUU' celebration and instead performed a passionate knee slide that made you know how important the goal was after a difficult period.

But what you might not know is that in the same game, Ronaldo very nearly recorded an assist of the season contender.

With United 1-0 up on Tuesday night, Bruno Fernandes fizzed the ball into him under pressure from two Brighton defenders.

The 37-year-old didn't have much time at all and instinctively delivered the most outrageous first-time flicked pass into the path of Fernandes.

The ball looped over the Brighton defence and found the run of his compatriot Fernandes, who looked to be in one-on-one with Sanchez.

However his chest control was a little off and his touch took him away from goal - the chance ultimately going begging.

Fans loved the pass from Ronaldo and reckon he would have had his best ever assist if Fernandes converted:

The flick evoked memories of his 2008 assist for Wayne Rooney against Aston Villa.

After opening the scoring, Ronaldo turned provider when he somehow knew that Rooney was running in behind and produced a glorious backheel that took out the whole Villa backline.

Rooney latched on to the exquisite pass, rounded Scott Carson and slotted home.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo's all-round performance in the 2-0 win over Brighton reminded fans that he's still a special player and drew praise from interim manager Ralf Rangnick.

"That was an amazing goal,” Rangnick said post-match.

“Not only an important one but an amazing goal. I think overall it was a good performance by Cristiano.

"Energetically, he was on there, he was always trying to help the team-mates so I think in the last weeks definitely the best performance by him and a very, very important goal for us.”

Featured Image Credit: Image: Twitter

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Brighton And Hove Albion

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

@joshlawless_