'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Second-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata helped Juventus record a 2-0 victory over Napoli in the Italian Super Cup on Wednesday.
Juventus secured their spot in this game by virtue of their Serie A triumph last season, while Napoli were 4-2 victors over the Bianconeri in the final of the Coppa Italia.
The league champions started brightly in the early exchanges. However, the best chance of a dour first half fell to Napoli, with Andrea Petagna directing a powerful header at goal that was saved by Wojciech Szczesny.
Both managers came out with a risk-averse gameplan of not losing rather than playing to win.
Half-time saw Andrea Pirlo replace the ineffective Federico Chiesa for Federico Bernadeschi, while Gennaro Gattuso fielded the same line-up for Napoli.
Juventus took the lead almost immediately after the restart, with the newly-introduced Bernadeschi seeing a goal-bound shot clawed off the line by David Ospina.
The Serie A champions continued to mount the pressure and got the lead their dominance deserved when Cristiano Ronaldo smashed a close-range finish into the roof of the net.
This setback forced Napoli to seek an equaliser, and Gattuso almost immediately replaced Tiemoue Bakayoko with Elif Elmas, while Petagna also left the field for Dries Mertens.
Despite being on the backfoot, the Pertenopei got an excellent chance to draw level when Mertens went over in the box under a challenge from Weston McKennie.
The referee initially waved play on but VAR asked him to retake a look at the foul, and the original decision was ultimately rescinded.
However, Lorenzo Insigne missed from the spot, sending his effort wide of the left post, despite Szczesny going the wrong way.
Alvaro Morata soon came on for Dejan Kulusevski in the 84th minute and sealed the victory for Juventus deep into injury time.
Szczesny made a stunning save late in the game, and the counter-attack saw Juan Cuadrado race through on goal before teeing Morata to tap into an empty net.
The goal ensured that Juventus secured the win and here, we shall have a rundown of five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Juventus win ninth Supercoppa Italiana
Juventus are undeniably the most dominant club on the Italian football scene and have once more confirmed their superiority.
Having lost out on the Super Cup and Coppa Italia last year, Juventus have reclaimed their spot at the summit with a well-deserved victory at the MAPEI Stadium.
This triumph means that the Bianconeri have now won five of the last nine Italian Super Cups and ninth overall, which was a just reward for their performance.
#4 Lorenzo Insigne penalty miss proves costly
Lorenzo Insigne has been one of the most consistent players for Napoli since making his debut for his boyhood club in 2010.
Having inherited the captain's band following the departure of Marek Hamsik, the Italy international has proved his mettle as the club's talisman.
Against his club's most heated rivals, he got a chance to level the game from the spot. However, with less than 10 minutes to go, he sent his penalty wide.
Insigne had another chance to level the score in injury time, but Szczesny produced a stunning stop to deny him before Morata sealed the victory.
At the sound of the referee's full-time whistle, an inconsolable Lorenzo Insigne was in tears while being consoled by several teammates.
The penalty miss means that Insigne has now missed his last three spot-kicks against Juventus in regular time.
His manager Gattuso insisted that the 29-year-old must not feel responsible despite the penalty miss.
Lorenzo Insigne remains a bonafide Napoli legend and must now dust himself up to help his club achieve their season objectives.
#3 Supercoppa victory could help rejuvenate Juventus in Serie A
Juventus have had a mixed start to the campaign and came into this fixture on the back of a debilitating 2-0 defeat away to Inter Milan.
That loss saw the defending champions fall 10 points behind table-toppers AC Milan on the table, and the Turin giants now face a real fight to retain their title.
However, this victory over Napoli could help restore confidence in the Juventus squad ahead of what is a defining period in the season.
Up next for Andrea Pirlo's side will be a visit to Bologna on Sunday. They will be looking to build on from this triumph before hosting SPAL in the quarter-final of the Coppa Italia.
#2 Andrea Pirlo's managerial tenure gets legitimacy with title win
There were more than a few eyebrows raised when Juventus announced Andrea Pirlo as Maurizio Sarri's replacement last summer.
The World Cup winner had no prior experience in management and had only recently been appointed to oversee the club's Under-23 team.
During his playing days, Pirlo established himself as one of the most distinguished midfielders in history, but his transition to management has been less graceful.
An indifferent start has been made to the season, while tactical instructions and patterns of play have also been underwhelming.
At a club like Juventus, winning is ingrained in the club's DNA and, like Pirlo experienced during his playing days, trophies are the currency by which a manager is judged.
With the Super Cup triumph, some of the pressure will be eased on Pirlo's fledgling managerial career, and the onus is on him to build on from this.
#1 Record-breaking Cristiano Ronaldo steps up to the plate once again
Cristiano Ronaldo's second-half goal saw him enter the record books yet again. This was the 760th goal of his professional career, taking him one clear of Josef Bican as the player with the most official goals in history.
It also means that he has scored 32 goals in his last 32 appearances for Juventus in all competitions, bringing his tally for the season to 20 goals and two assists from 20 games in all competitions.
Beyond the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo was also the most potent goal threat, although he was a bit guilty of profligacy, with just one of his six shots hitting the target.
Speaking after the game, the Portugal international stated his hope that the Supercoppa triumph could prove to be the springboard for Juventus in Serie A.
With their talismanic number 7 in his current form, the Bianconerri will fancy their chances of turning their season around.
