JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Amid a background of protests and political outrage, Juventus have beaten 10-man AC Milan 1-0 in Saudi Arabia to win the Italian Super Cup for a record eighth time.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the match to win his first trophy with the Italian team.
"I'm very happy, it was what I wanted, I'm very happy to have won my first title with Juventus," Ronaldo said.
It was Ronaldo's fourth goal in his past four matches as he shows little sign of being affected - on the pitch at least - by a case of alleged rape involving an American woman.
Juventus, which has won the league the past seven seasons, leads Serie A by nine points and is in the quarterfinal of the Italian Cup as well as the last 16 of the Champions League.
********Juventus' Paulo Dybala, center left, and Juventus' Miralem Pjanic raise the trophy at the end of the Italian Super Cup final soccer match between AC Milan and Juventus at King Abdullah stadium in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Jan 16, 2019. (AP PHOTO)