CRISTIANO RONALDO’S freak, volleyed penalty has the football world baffled.
The ball appeared to levitate just a moment before the Real Madrid star smashed it past Paris Saint-Germain keeper Alphonse Areola in last night’s 3-1 Champions League win.
Initial claims Ronaldo, 33, touched the ball before striking it were rubbished after replays showed his standing foot made no contact.
So how exactly did the ball move from the spot?
Here, SunSport runs over the possibilities.
EARTHQUAKE
OLD Thunder-Thighs summoned some superhuman strength and created a mini-earthquake during his run-up, causing the ground to knock the ball into the air.
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The Portuguese is one heck of an athlete and has even dedicated some of his goal celebrations to the tree trunks he calls his legs.
Alternatively, the 80,000 screaming fans inside the Bernabeu produced a tremor on the Richter Scale.
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It’s not unheard of, either.
In 2016, jubilant Leicester supporters caused an “earthquake” with a magnitude of 0.3 after Leonardo Ulloa’s last-minute winner against Norwich.
VOODOO MAGIC
PICTURE this.
Lionel Messi is getting worried – arch-rival Ronnie has found his stride with seven goals in his last four games before the PSG clash.
The Ballon d’Or is at stake here and whichever of the two superstars wins it takes the lead with six of the awards.
The crafty Barcelona maestro enlists the help of a renowned voodoo magician. “Anything to stop him from scoring,” he says.
But Ron is prepared for all possibilities and instead uses it to his advantage.
Nice try, Lionel.
WATERLOGGED PITCH
THE groundsman has had a mare.
Too much water sprinkled onto the pitch in the run up to this historic fixture has caused a bubble next to the penalty spot.
Think of a waterbed.
Ronaldo stamps on that exact spot which forces a pocket of air elsewhere, it travels underneath the white paint and the ball pops up.
Either that or an unnatural amount of methane gas has made its way underneath the pitch.
In 2016, scientists discovered an extraordinary area of grass in Siberia which caused similar bubbles.
SUPERPOWERS
RONALDO has learned telekinesis.
Most players adapt with age, conserve their energy, adjust their positioning.
Ronaldo, instead, simply brings the ball to him, bends its will to his.
The look of deep concentration on his face while he closed his eyes before taking the penalty is 100 per cent proof.
Nevermind the fact someone was trying to shine a laser into them . . .
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