Juventus narrowly overcame Sassuolo 1-0 in Serie A at the Juventus Stadium on Monday evening.
The only goal arrived late on from the relatively quiet Paul Pogba in order to take the Old Lady one step closer to yet another Scudetto.
It proved to be a tale of frustration for league leaders Juventus in the opening period against impressively determined opponents.
Bianconeri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was a late withdrawal due to flu, but it was stand-in Marco Storari who was almost caught cold when attempting to dribble past Sassuolo striker Simone Zaza in his own area.
Having got away with that early scare, the hosts found themselves closed down rapidly by the well-drilled visitors at every turn.
Both Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal fired well over the bar, while Carlos Tevez displayed a clever touch inside the box before sending his effort just too high, as Juventus struggled to breakdown the Neroverdi’s stubborn resistance.
Tevez also saw his corner from the left headed over by Giorgio Chiellini when the big defender really should have done better.
The Argentine forward certainly seemed the man most likely to unlock the door for the reigning champions, with a swerving shot calling Andrea Consigli into action.
Though the away side rarely threatened, they did force Tevez into a last-ditch challenge when pouncing on a loose ball by the shaky Leonardo Bonucci in Juve’s own half.
However, the resultant free-kick by Nicola Sansone went straight into the grateful arms of Storari.
There was more of the same in the second half, with Paul Pogba hitting an 18-yarder a whisker past the post and Tevez screwing his half-volley wide from a tight angle.
Sassuolo were sticking diligently to their task, but some visiting players appeared to be tiring around the hour mark.
Massimiliano Allegri saw that as a prime opportunity to introduce fresh legs in the shape of Fernando Llorente and Simone Pepe, as the Juventus coach looked to further stretch the plucky Emilian outfit.
Bonucci strode forward with purpose and looped an effort towards goal, but it was inches off-target. Imposing substitute Llorente then spun on Tevez’s cross, but couldn’t quite get the purchase required on his low strike.
Finally, with eight minutes remaining, Juventus broke the deadlock.
The relief was palpable when Pogba took a pass from sub Pepe beautifully in his stride before powering home from just outside the area.
It was a vital goal from the French midfielder which strengthened the Bianconeri’s grip on top spot in Serie A with an 11-point lead.
