Juventus won their eighth Italian Super Cup with a 1-0 victory over AC Milan, who played the last 20 minutes with 10 men after Franck Kessié's red card. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game, and can now add the Italian Super Cup to his enviable list of titles. Yet the build-up to the game was dominated by the absence of Gonzalo Higuain - strongly linked with a move to Chelsea - from the Milan starting XI.
Both sides started positively in the match's adoptive home of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with Douglas Costa carving open the game's first chance with a curling shot that flew just wide. Minutes later another shot went near Donnarumma's right-hand post - this time a low effort from Joao Cancelo. It seemed the reigning Serie A champions were in control. But for all their pressure they couldn't force a breakthrough, with Ronaldo growing increasingly frustrated by the poor quality of his teammates' crosses. Milan had their chances too, frequently hitting Juventus on the break and creating problems from resulting corners.
As the first half drew to a close, four yellow cards had been dished out, but the game was yet to see a goal. Ronaldo seemed determined to change that; cajoling and high-fiving his teammates as they exited the tunnel for the second half. And after a flurry of chances for both sides, the breakthrough came. Miralem Pjanic floated in a beautiful cross, and Ronaldo, evading the Milan defense, nodded home with ease.
Paulo Dybala almost doubled Juventus' lead minutes later, tucking the ball away after a fine passing move, but was ruled offside. The game seemed to be running away from Milan, and in an attempt to change the tide, manager Gennaro Gattuso eventually brought Higuain on in the 71st minute. This did't quite change the game as the Italian coach had wanted, however. Two minutes later Kessié went in hard on Emre Can, his challenge almost resembling a stamp. Referee Luca Banti had no option but to brandish the red card, leaving Milan facing an extremely daunting task.
But attack they did, and sub Andrea Conti almost found the net from a low cross, stopped only by a superb block from Can. Vast chasms inevitably began to open up as Milan desperately threw more men forward in search of an equaliser. Ronaldo almost took advantage, splitting the defence on the break, but his shot was fired straight at Wojciech Szczęsny.
The final whistle not only confirmed Juventus' victory but also meant they moved clear of Milan's tally of Super Cup wins, this being their eighth to the Rossoneri's seven. Today's losers can at least look at this as an improvement on their last cup meeting with Juventus, in which they suffered a 4-0 defeat in May 2018.