Sunday 18 December 2016 16:47, UK
A fine solo goal from Gonzalo Higuain stretched Juventus' lead at the top of Serie A to seven points following a 1-0 victory over title rivals Roma.
Higuain, who joined the Italian champions for £75.3m from Napoli this summer, scored the all-important goal after 14 minutes when the Argentina international skipped past two Roma defenders before blasting past Wojciech Szczesny for his 10th league goal of the season.
Despite not playing with the fluency which has brought them five consecutive league titles, the win proved that Juve are the team to beat while Roma's rebirth this campaign was put on hold and they will need to regroup against Chievo before the winter break.
AC Milan lost ground in the title race after being held to a goalless draw against Atalanta at San Siro.
The visitors controlled much of the game in the opening 45 minutes as Andrea Conti and Alejandro Gomez failed to convert chances. But Milan full-back Luca Antonelli had the best chance to score in the first half after his effort struck the post.
Vincenzo Montella's men dominated the second period but Atalanta stood firm as both sides settled for a point.
A brace from Levan Mchedlidze saw Empoli pull away from the Serie A drop zone with a 2-0 home win over Cagliari.
Azzurri forward Guido Marilungo assisted both goals, first picking out Mchedlidze in the Sardinians' box in the eighth minute before finding his team-mate again 18 minutes from time as Giovanni Martusciello's men earned their first victory in five games.
