Yerevan: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his third successive hat-trick for club and country as 10-man Portugal survived a big scare to beat Armenia 3-2 and remain clear at the top of their European Championship qualifying group.


Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal against Armenia in Yerevan on Saturday. Pic/AFP 

Marcos Pizzelli's brilliant 30-yard free-kick gave Armenia a surprise lead but Ronaldo equalised from the spot before half-time and the Real Madrid superstar then struck twice in three minutes before the hour to put Portugal in control in Yerevan. That followed Ronaldo's hat-tricks for Real in their final two Primera Division games against Espanyol and Getafe and increased his record-breaking tally of European Championship goals to 26.