Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo poses with the winners' trophy after the Italian Super Cup football match between Juventus and Napoli on Jan 20, 2021 at the Mapei stadium - Citta del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia. (MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)

Cristiano Ronaldo was hailed as the most prolific professional goalscorer in the history of the game on Wednesday after notching his 760th senior goal to help Juventus beat Napoli 2-0 in the Italian Supercup with Alvaro Morata scoring the second goal.

Ronaldo’s career tally includes goals for four top-flight clubs and Portugal with his closest active rival being Argentine Lionel Messi, who last month scored a single club record 644th goal for Barcelona

The title of greatest goalscorer is much contested, and global governing body FIFA does not keep an official record, but several media outlets reported that Ronaldo’s strike had taken him past Austro-Czech Josef Bican to the top of the list.

Bican, as well as Brazilian strikers Pele and Romario, scored in excess of 1,000 goals during their careers but those statistics include strikes in amateur, unofficial and friendly matches.

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Ronaldo’s career tally includes goals for four top-flight clubs and Portugal with his closest active rival being Argentine Lionel Messi, who last month scored a single club record 644th goal for Barcelona.

The 35-year-old Ronaldo, who is the leading goalscorer for his country with 102 goals, previously played for Sporting Lisbon (five goals), Manchester United (118) and Real Madrid (450). He has scored 85 goals for Juventus.

“The incredible @Cristiano has scored his 760th career goal tonight, overtaking Josef Bican as the highest goal scorer in the history of football. What an achievement,” former England striker Gary Lineker posted on Twitter.

Napoli, who beat Juventus in the final to win last season’s Coppa Italia, came close to taking the lead midway through the first half, but Hirving Lozano’s bullet header was brilliantly saved by Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Substitute Federico Bernardeschi almost made an immediate impact early in the second half but was denied by David Ospina in the Napoli goal, before Ronaldo pounced from close range in the 64th minute.

Napoli were then handed a golden opportunity to equalise after Dries Mertens was fouled in the penalty area, but Lorenzo Insigne dragged his spot kick wide.

Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (third right) shoots to score and open the scoring past Napoli's Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina (front) during the Italian Super Cup soccer match between Juventus and Napoli on Jan 20, 2021 at the Mapei stadium - Citta del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia. (MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)

As Gennaro Gattuso’s side committed bodies forward in stoppage time, Juve broke on the counter with Morata making sure of the win that secured Andrea Pirlo his first trophy as a senior coach.

“It is a great joy to win a trophy,” Pirlo told Rai Sport. “It is even more beautiful than winning as a player.

“It is difficult to see beautiful finals. It was important to win above all after the defeat against Inter (Milan in Serie A on Sunday). We had to show our pride.”

The Supercup final is often played abroad with the last two editions in Saudi Arabia. However, Wednesday’s match was contested in Italy at Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The first hour of the contest was cagey, with few clear-cut chances. Even Ronaldo was quiet before he scored his 20th goal of the season in all competitions.

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The referee awarded Napoli the penalty after consulting the pitchside monitor but Insigne wasted the opportunity, missing from the spot for the third time against Juventus in all competitions.

Morata then came off the bench to tap home at the far post to complete the win.

“With Lorenzo (Insigne) the first thing he has to do is not to feel the responsibility,” Gattuso said. “The first culprit is me, not Insigne.

“I congratulated my boys because they played the game they had to. We must respect Juve.”