Off the back of a demoralizing 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan on Sunday, which left them at fifth on the Serie A log, the Italian champions knew that picking up a trophy a few days on was the best way to bounce and get a trophy, they did.
But they also knew that with an opponent like Napoli, it wasn’t going to a walk in the park, and as expected, the game was as keenly contested. Though Juventus had the better chances, it stayed goalless at half time, and it wasn’t until the 64th minute before Cristiano Ronaldo found the back of the net from a corner to put the Old Lady in front.
According to statistics, the goal was Cristiano Ronaldo’s 760th career goal and might have likely earned him a world record, overtaking Josef Bican to become the all-time highest goal scorer.
Napoli got a chance to get back in the game will 10 minutes left of play when they were awarded a penalty after a VAR review of Weston McKennie’s foul Dries Mertens. Still, Lorenzo Insigne sent his spot-kick wide, giving Juventus a brief moment of relief.
However, the relieving moment came in stoppage time when Alvaro Morata sealed the win just after a brilliant save from Juve’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, sending his teammates while with excitement and handing Pirlo his first trophy as manager of his former club.
Beyond setting a possible world record, Ronaldo also went home with the Man of the Match award for his influential role in ensuring Juve got a ninth Super Cup and what would be a fourth trophy for him in the white and black stripes.
