Magical Ronaldo hat-trick gets World Cup party started for Portugal

The World Cup was crying out for a classic, and it certainly go one here in Sochi as Cristiano Ronaldo underlined his legendary status with a late free-kick to complete a hat-trick and seal a remarkable 3-3 draw for Portugal against underfire Spain.

Ronaldo’s 88th minute strike, a trademark effort from the edge of the area, crowned a quite magnificent match in Group B which has set the 2018 tournament alight.

All the ingredients were there in advance, of course, following Spain’s traumatic week in which they had sacked one manager, appointed another and split the nation with the way it was all done.