Cristiano Ronaldo extended his absurd goal streak with a tiny touch and a ton of luck

Cristiano Ronaldo cannot stop scoring at the moment. More accurately, he can’t stop playing games without scoring goals. And no matter how hard opponents try to keep him off the board, Real Madrid’s Portuguese superstar finds ways to extend his streak.

Ronaldo scored in a 12th – TWELFTH – consecutive match on Wednesday in a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao. But “scored” doesn’t quite convey the true nature of the goal …

With Bilbao leading for much of the match on Inaki Williams’ first-half opener, Madrid appeared to be heading for a fourth home defeat in La Liga this season. Ronaldo had been shut down and shutout. He had a penalty claim denied.

But to keep his goalscoring streak alive, he got the tiniest of touches on Luka Modric’s shot from outside the box. Modric’s hit had already been deflected by an Athletic player on its way toward the net. Ronaldo, somehow, helped it sneak inside the far post. And then he quickly claimed the goal with Harry Kane-esque expertise.

But hey, a goal is a goal. Ronaldo’s streak now spans two months and eight days. It stretches all the way back to his hat trick against Real Sociedad in La Liga. It includes his bicycle kick and 97th-minute penalty against Juventus in the Champions League. It includes 22 goals in all. And it’s simply remarkable.

It will be put to the test, however, in three of Real Madrid’s next four games. After a weekend off, Los Blancos open their Champions League semifinal tie against Bayern Munich. Five days after the second leg of the Bayern showdown, they face Barcelona in the fourth and final Clasico of the season. If Ronaldo’s run is still ongoing after that … we’ll be out of words to describe it.

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Henry Bushnell covers global soccer, and occasionally other ball games, for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.

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