First things first: clickbait! But not really. In soccer, had Cristiano Ronaldo converted, this wouldn’t have been an assist for Isco. But if we’re talking hockey, yes. The confines of a rink are intensely intimate, so the preceding pass is usually as important as the ultimate one. In soccer, we know that’s less frequently the case.
But not so here. What Isco does in the buildup is simply the second coming of Zidane. We should hear heavenly trumpets as the Andalusian plucks that ill-tempered fruit from the sky with his right foot before swiveling and painting a forward pass into the path of Gareth Bale.
From there, Bale does what he does best. He drives forward, leaving the destructive path of a Welsh dragon in his wake. He shapes one. I mean, he gets behind the potter’s wheel, crafts it, puts it in the kiln and delivers it to Cristiano Ronaldo. The soon-to-be Ballon d’Or recipient then gifts it to the Bernabeu.
Falla @Cristiano frente al arco y siguen sin goles el @realmadrid y el @RealBetis en el partido por la quinta fecha de #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/mmen8SEeBk
— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) September 20, 2017
Ronaldo attempted 12 shots today without scoring a goal, which is pretty spectacular. Although it’s also the kind of motivation that usually helps him wreck teams for the remainder of the season. Which is what he'll do.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Attempted 12 shots vs Real Betis without scoring, a record in a La Liga game since September 2015 (also Ronaldo) pic.twitter.com/D5f40vb86j
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) September 20, 2017