Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-half goal secured a record eighth Italian Super Cup victory for Juventus as they beat AC Milan 1-0 in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Wednesday.
The trophy, which was being contested outside of Italy for the 10th time, is traditionally a clash between the Italian league and cup winners, but Milan qualified as Coppa Italia runners-up after Juve clinched the domestic double last season.
Striker Gonzalo Higuain was dropped to the Milan bench amid media rumours of an imminent move to Chelsea, with some pre-match reports suggesting he was struggling with a fever.
Yet it was Juve’s Portuguese talisman Ronaldo who again stole the show with a winning goal that sealed the Turin club’s eighth Supercoppa win to make them the competition’s most successful team with one more trophy than Milan.
“It was a very difficult match, it’s very warm and hard to play in these conditions,” Ronaldo told Italian broadcasters.
“It was my intention to start 2019 with a trophy, I have my first title with Juve and I am very happy,” he added.
“It is only the start, we take it one step at a time. We’ve got this cup, now we must keep working hard to achieve the next trophy.
“Serie A is always Juve’s principal objective, we are top of the table, but it’s a very long competition and it’s going to be tough, so we need to keep working.”
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