Ronaldo, who stands at 6ft 1in, climbed to a remarkable height of 8ft 7in to make contact with the ball well above the flailing Chester.
And the 'hang time' - to coin a basketball phrase - which both Lineker and Keown alluded to? 0.7 seconds. To hold your body in the air for nearly a second is some quite some feat in itself.
The goal begs the question: is Ronaldo the greatest header of the ball in the world?
It is hard to think of a player still playing who can lay a greater claim to that crown than the soaring Madeiran.
Gareth Bale, although proving this last month he is very much his own man, has clearly learned some tricks of the trade from his Real Madrid team-mate these past three seasons.
He scored nine headers last season and at five years Ronaldo's junior can only get better; but Ronaldo is the master.
lenty of centre-halves with a significant height advantage can beat Ronaldo to a ball, and his technique when heading defensively or on the halfway line may not be as good as such players.
But with a ball delivered in the box, even at 9ft high, it is hard to think of anyone you'd rather have on the end of it than Ronaldo.
Ronaldo's aerial ability flies in the face of his footballing persona. Stroppy, skillful wide men prone to theatrics are not who you'd usually associate with aerial prowess. But as he has done all of his career, Ronaldo breaks with convention in this department.
In fact, four of his most famous and important goals have been headers: for Manchester United against Roma in 2008; against Chelsea in the final of that competition a month later; for Real Madrid against United in the Champions League in 2013; and against Wales on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo has moved the game on with his athleticism, that will be his legacy, and nothing better embodies that than the way he heads a ball.
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