Cristiano Ronaldo rose to the occasion again in the Supercoppa Italiana final and helped Juventus to win the trophy for a record 8 times.
Massimiliano Allegri says Cristiano Ronaldo was signed exactly for the kind of match-winning impact he made for Juventus against AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana.
In a contest that lacked fast tempo for large parts, Ronaldo headed home the decisive goal in the 61st minute to seal a 1-0 triumph in Jeddah.
Juventus could have won by a more comfortable scoreline with Douglas Costa and Joao Cancelo having decent chances, while the Bianconeri twice correctly had goals ruled out for offside before Franck Kessie was deservedly sent off for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.
It marks the first tropht that Ronaldo has won as a Juve player since he joined from Real Madrid in a €112million deal in the close season and the Portugal star hopes this is the beginning of bigger and better things.
Speaking to Rai Sport, Ronaldo said: “It was a very difficult match, it’s very warm and hard to play in these conditions. We played well, created a lot of chances and obviously I am happy to have scored the winning goal.
It was my intention to start 2019 with a trophy, I have my first title with Juve and I am very happy. But it is only the start, we will take it one step at a time. We’ve got this trophy, now we must keep working hard to achieve the next one.
Serie A is always Juve’s main objective. We are top of the table, but it’s a very long tournament and it’s going to be tough, so we need to keep working.”
Juve boss Allegri hailed Ronaldo’s impact and performance of the team on the whole, even though he felt his side could have been a bit more clinical.
“We signed Cristiano Ronaldo because he is decisive and scores big goals,” he told Rai Sport. He further added: “He scored a great goal and moved very well, but the whole team put in a good performance. There were a few too many counter-attacks – we should’ve had more moves like the [Paulo] Dybala disallowed goal.
Instead, we kept trying to move it around too quickly and allowed Milan some counters, forcing us to sprint back.”
Allegri said in respect to Costa’s injury “It was just cramp, he played a good game, these players know what it means to sacrifice.
“I admire above all the spirit and professionalism of this team, as those who came off the bench even if only for a few minutes had the right attitude and determination to make a difference.
That’s what we need going forward this season.” Allegri further added.
This trophy is pretty small in comparison to the other titles Ronaldo has his eyes on. But an unbeaten first half to the season suggests that a Serie A crown at the very least is on the agenda, while Juventus are very much in the hunt for Coppa Italia and Champions League glory.
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