Ronaldo seals Italian Super Cup for Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal to hand Juventus their first trophy of the season with a 1-0 win over ten-man AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.

Juventus’ Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (C) and teammates celebrate their Supercoppa Italiana final win against AC Milan at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 16, 2019. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP)

Ronaldo who signed by the Italian giants last year from Real Madrid as they target a first Champions League title since 1996 — headed in a 61st-minute winner.

AC Milan played the last quarter of an hour a man down after Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie saw red for a bad tackle on Emre Can. 

Juventus' victory edged them clear of AC Milan who have won the Supercoppa on seven occasions

The match had been overshadowed by controversy with calls for it to be relocated over human rights issues in Saudi Arabia with women only allowed to attend the game if they were accompanied by a man. 

According to media reports, there were 15,000 women among the 61,000 crowd in the stadium. Juventus have now won the title a record eight times, while AC Milan have won seven. 

It was second time that Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has lifted the trophy, having lost to AC Milan in 2016 and Lazio last year.