Sounds like he did good last night (I only saw the first 30 mins of the game, which were nonetheless ridiculously entertaining compared to most early world cup games)
Thing about Ronaldo is that he's only intermittently a big game player. There have been several of his 5-6 Champions League finals where he has been next to anonymous. But I think you're absolutely right that in the past couple of years, he has increased the economy in his game - and as a result has been way more effective in the big matches, in the way that he was alleged to be previously in a bizarre ignoring of reality.
And it's very, very rare to get better again through your 30s. Maybe Federer is the ultimate throughout sport - no grand slams 2013-6, surely he's making way for the next generation?...but no. THREE grand slam titles in the past 18 months. Phenomenal is the only word for it, and I can't stand the guy personally.