Portugal and Spain played out to an enthralling 3-3 draw in the second game of Group B at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi on Friday.
The reigning European champions got off to the perfect start when they raced into the lead within five minutes.
Ronaldo was brought down by his Real Madrid teammate Jose Ignacio Nacho. He then dusted himself off and sent David de Gea the wrong way to become the first ever player to score in eight consecutive major tournaments.
The Spanish were shocked by that early goal but settled soon after and threatened to equalise twice through David Silva before the 20th minute.
First after Costa deflected an Isco Alarcon shot into the path of the Manchester City midfielder, yet he failed to keep his shot down. Then Andres Iniesta got to the byline and cut it back for Silva, who saw his shot deflected wide for a corner.
La Furia Roja equalised in the 24th minute through a type of goal they are not really known for but one that was huge in the context of the game.
A massive heave up the pitch from Sergio Busquets was taken down by Diego Costa in his characteristically bullish manner before he checked back twice and beat Rui Patricio with a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
Portugal restored their lead a minute before the break. De Gea made a horrendous error when he let in a left-footed Ronaldo shot from the edge of the area to gift the Portuguese a half-time lead.
The 2010 World Cup champions took just ten minutes to equalise after the start of the second half. Busquets was the man who once again set up Costa. This time the Barcelona midfielder did well to keep the ball alive and head it back across goal, where Costa was on hand to complete his brace.
With the wind in their sails, Spain took the lead three minutes later. Nacho made up for conceding the penalty early in the game by thumping a right-footed volley with the outside of his foot from the edge of the box into the back of the net.
Fernando Santos’ side found the equaliser in the 88th minute in sublime fashion. Ronaldo completed his hat-trick with a free-kick from just outside the area that curled and dipped into the top right corner far from the on-looking de Gea.
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