Cristiano Ronaldo: Man Utd hero denied stunning assist vs Brighton

It’s hard to work out whether Cristiano Ronaldo has made Manchester United a better or worse team since he rejoined the Premier League club last summer.

Unquestionably one of the greatest footballers of all time, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 15 goals in 27 appearances during his second spell with the Red Devils so far.

That’s not a bad return by any means; however, there have been many games this season where the veteran forward has looked his age. Ronaldo isn’t your average 37-year-old footballer but it’s patently clear that his best days are now behind him.

That doesn’t mean he’s no longer capable of producing magic, though, as we saw on Tuesday night against Brighton.

Ronaldo broke the deadlock early in the second half, rolling back the years to score a fabulous goal past Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

The Portugal international could also have ended the match with one of the best assists of the season had Bruno Fernandes’ first touch been a little better.

Ronaldo played a beautiful first-time pass into Fernandes’s path with the most delicate of touches.

Fernandes tried to control the ball with his chest but it rolled away from him and the chance went begging.

Watch the clip here:

This pass from Cristiano Ronaldo is so underratedpic.twitter.com/T7N0d9SPKe

What a shame Fernandes was unable to produce the finish. That would have been one of Ronaldo’s greatest ever assists.

Let’s check out some of the reaction from fans on social media:

Ronaldo has provided three assists for Man Utd this season, all in the Premier League.

But he could have doubled that tally in 90 minutes against Brighton.

As well as setting up Fernandes for two glorious opportunities, Ronaldo also put the ball on a plate for Jadon