3 RONNIES
Ronaldo escapes prison and gets Portugal out of jail with a stunning, magical hat-trick in an all-time classic
CRISTIANO RONALDO turned in one of his greatest ever displays to get Portugal out of jail.
The Real Madrid superstar, who yesterday accepted a suspended prison sentence for
FROM BACK PAGE tax evasion, scored a sensational hat-trick – the 51st of his career – in an unforgettable Iberian derby. He cleverly won (above) and converted a penalty for the fourth-minute opener, then restored Portugal’s lead when David De Gea failed to hold onto his tame shot just before half-time. But he saved the best for last, after Spain looked as if they would hold on at 3-2. With two minutes left he won a free-kick on the edge of the box, then curled an inchperfect shot into the top-right corner. To complete a show-stopping performance, Ronaldo made a trademark wink in the direction of Spain’s David Silva – a throwback to his infamous gesture after Wayne Rooney was sent off in the World Cup quarter-final. Diego Costa equalised twice for Spain and Nacho’s thunderbolt seemed to have given them victory – but it was snatched away by Ronaldo’s free-kick.