Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick looks identical to one from training 24 hours earlier (Photos)

Cristiano Ronaldo had millions of soccer fans around the world exploding up out of their seats and yelping involuntarily with a stunning bicycle kick against Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday. He had those same fans buzzing for hours, marveling at his brilliance.

But an acrobatic bicycle kick? It’s no big deal to Ronaldo. He’s done it before. He does it every day.

No, like, seriously, he practiced the exact same skill in training one day earlier. Or at least that’s what photos from Real Madrid’s Monday session seem to suggest:

Hat-tip to ESPNFC for pointing the eery, uncanny similarities on Twitter.

But then again, you’d expect the photos to be near-identical. Ronaldo has put in hours on the training ground perfecting all of his skills, fine-tuning his movements and techniques. It makes sense that the glorious goal would be a result of those hours. Just more evidence that practice makes perfect, or whatever form of that cliché you prefer to use.

Ronaldo’s goal was the highlight of a 3-0 Real Madrid romp in Turin that should see it through to the Champions League semifinals.

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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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