PHOTOS : Ronaldo strike helps Juventus to Italian Super Cup triumph

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Cristiano Ronaldo put his off-field controversies behind him as he scored the only goal of the game to lead Juventus to victory against AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana last night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo’s day started with the news that a former girlfriend was set to meet with the legal team of Kathryn Mayorga, the woman who claims he raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Ronaldo: “ I am happy to have scored the winning goal and start 2019 with my first Juventus trophy. 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. I am happy, 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 principle 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. I dedicate the goal to the team, my family, friends and everyone around the world who loves Juve and loves Cristiano.” The events off the field appeared to have little impact on the Portuguese star’s performance on the pitch for his team. Ronaldo’s 61st-minute strike proved decisive as he nodded a Miralem Pjanic chipped ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Milan goal to break the deadlock against their longtime rivals. Milan’s appeals for offside were waved away by the officials, with VAR replays showing the Portuguese superstar was level with the last Milan defender and therefore onside. Paolo Dybala nearly put Juve 2-0 up on 68 minutes, but his slotted finish was correctly ruled out for offside. But things eventually went from bad to worse for Milan when Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Emre Can after 73 minutes. Following the sending off, 10-man Milan were hamstrung in their attempts to get back into the game, as Juventus cruised through the remainder of the game.