Mario Mandzukic was the Juventus hero as his two goals helped the Serie A champions a 3-1 victory over Napoli at the Allianz Stadium.
Paired alongside Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese delighted the 39,000 Juventus fans with two assists for the Croatian striker, three in total, in his best game for the Bianconeri thus far.
Dries Mertens had put Napoli in the lead after just 10 minutes, but Mandzukic struck 16 minutes later, then got the second early in the second half. Leonardo Bonucci got the third on 76 minutes, thanks to another Ronaldo assist.
The result leaves Napoli trailing Juventus by six points at the top of Serie A, with the Bianconeri having won seven from seven, a feat they have only managed four times in their history.
A brilliant start from Napoli saw the away side strike the post through Piotr Zielinski, while at the other end David Ospina had to be alert to save a long range Ronaldo effort.
Some excellent pressing from Napoli put Leonardo Bonucci under pressure and forced a mistake, with a poor pass being intercepted by Allan, who in turn played in Jose Callejon, and he slide across goal for a Mertens tap in.
That was as good as things got for Napoli. Ronaldo again tested Ospina from distance, before providing an excellent cross which an unmarked Mandzukic nodded home.
It was almost two moments later. Again Ronaldo was at the heart as he fired in a freekick from the left side which was beaten out by Ospina into the path of Mandzukic, but he was unable to apply the finish, and the ball was eventually booted over the crossbar by Emre Can.
Juventus had been woken up by Napoli’s surprise start and pushed the Partenopei into their own half, though couldn’t fashion any more clear cut chances.
After the break, Ronaldo once more tried his luck against Ospina, this time hitting the post with the ball rebounding into the path of Mandzukic, who tapped home his second of the game.
Things went from bad to worse as Mario Rui picked up his second yellow card of the match 58 minutes in after a foul on Paulo Dybala, and was promptly sent off.
Napoli should have tied the game up when Callejon wriggled his way through the Juventus defence, but his shot was well saved by Wojciech Szczesny.
The game was wrapped up with 15 minutes left as Bonucci slid in at the back post, knocking Ronaldo’s header home.
