Cristiano Ronaldo was like a coiled spring at the weekend.
After missing four matches due to testing positive for coronavirus, the Portuguese superstar returned for Juventus’ trip to Spezia.
He had to make do with a place on the bench and watched on for 56 minutes as Juve were being held 1-1 to the newly-promoted side.
But within three minutes of entering the fray, Ronaldo had scored.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner latched onto a pass from Alvaro Morata and finished brilliantly to put the Old Lady 2-1 up.
He later scored a Panenka penalty to see Juventus win 4-1 as he announced his return to football in sensational fashion.
Thirty-five years old and still proving he’s one of the best around.
His first goal epitomised one of Ronaldo’s biggest strengths - his off-the-ball movement. The way in which he separated the two Spezia centre-backs and held his run expertly was world-class.
And it’s something that has allowed him to score 643 club career goals to date.
In fact, a recent video is going viral showing just how good he is at finding the space that enables him to score so many goals.
It’s captioned: "Ronaldo doesn't get marked like Messi. Correct. His off-the-ball movement is too good. It's impossible.”
The video shows CR7 having almost telepathic skills as he not only predicts where the ball will go but manages to get away from his marker at the same time.
Take a look at the impressive video:
It just goes to show what you do without the ball is just as important than what you do with the ball.
As the late, great Johan Cruyff once said: "When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball 3 minutes on average. So, the most important thing is: what do you do during those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball. That is what determines whether you’re a good player or not.”
With his movement, don’t be surprised to see Ronaldo still playing and scoring at the highest level in many years to come.