Lazio returned to a heroes welcome in Rome on Monday after their thrilling 3-1 Italian Supercup victory over Juventus in Riyadh which ended Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo's five-year victorious run in finals.
Ronaldo's incredible run of 12 consecutive finals - with Real Madrid, Juventus and his national team Portugal - stretches back to the 2014 Spanish Super Cup.
The 34-year-old is so used to winning that he took defeat to Lazio in Saudi Arabia on Sunday in a less-than-heroic fashion.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's frustration was obvious as he quickly took the silver medal off his neck and did not wait to see Lazio lift the trophy for a fifth time.
Ronaldo has played two finals since joining Juventus from Real Madrid in 2018, scoring the winner to beat AC Milan 1-0 in the Italian Supercup in January 2019, also in Riyadh.
He was powerless to stop Lazio lifting the cup - a match played each year between the champions of Serie A and the Coppa Italia winners - for a third time in two years though as goals from Luis Alberto, Senad Lulic and an injury-time Danilo Cataldi put Simeone Inzaghi's side in control with only Paulo Dybala's reply for consolation. Rodrigo Benancur was also sent off late on for the reigning Italian champions.
Eight-time reigning league champions Juventus - joint top of Serie A with Inter Milan - return to action on January 6 against Cagliari, while third-placed Lazio travel to Brescia on January 5.
