The 45th time is the charm for Ronaldo and Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning late free-kick for Portugal against Spain on Frisday was the Real Madrid star's first goal from a direct free-kick at a major tournament in 45 attempts.
Ronaldo stole the show once again as his hat-trick cancelled out a brace form Diego Costa and a stunner from Nacho to earn Portugal a share of the spoils in Sochi.
The final goal was the best of his three, a wonderful free-kick coming just two minutes from time and long after Portugal looked to have run out of steam.
Formerly renowned as a potent set-piece specialist, Ronaldo's lack of success from dead balls had become a point of much mockery and rightly so, with the 33-year-old having failed to convert in 44 straight attempts at either the world Cup or European Championships before Friday.
He chose an excellent time to break that duck though as he rose to the occasion to keep Portugal's hopes of adding the title of world champions to their current moniker of European champions.