The stand-out fixture of the group stages lived up to all the pre-match expectations as Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick helped Portugal secure a draw against Spain in a six goal thriller. Julen Lopetegui's interim replacement Fernando Hierro was denied an opening match win, having seen his side twice come from a goal down before finally taking the lead through Nacho's sledge hammer strike. 

Here are the talking points from a highly entertaining spectacle at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi. 

Source: Reuters

Big players step up when the stakes are high. Ronaldo did more than just that as he sealed the 51st hat-trick of his career with a sublime free-kick that curled inside David De Gea's left-hand post. The match had looked all set and won for the La Roja at one point but the Portuguese star had other ideas. At 33 years and 130 days, Ronaldo is now the oldest man to score thrice in a World Cup game.

Source: Reuters

Diego Costa scored two goals that put doubts over his understanding of the Spanish philosophy to bed, once and for all. The Ex-Chelsea man experienced an uneventful outing in the last World Cup, where he seemed to have been rushed to the Spain set-up. This time around, the robust, talismanic presence of Costa troubled the Portuguese backline all night. His goals, the first one in particular, characterised everything about an outstanding individual display. It was a sheer mix of strength, awareness and accuracy as he feinted his way around the Selecção das Quinas defenders before firing an unstoppable driven strike past Rui Patricio. 

Source: Reuters

The boy from Benalmadena symbolised everything that was exemplary about Spain, and he wasn't far from an early goal of the tournament contender either, with his first-half thunderbolt that rattled the crossbar. He operated in the No.10 position just behind Costa, but was given a license to roam allowing him to orchestrate attacks both laterally and vertically. Be it breaching through the opposing midfield lines with precise passing, or troubling them with his solo runs, Isco ran the show for the 2010 champions.