Pjanic strike rescues Juve

Bosnia midfielder Miralem Pjanic silenced his critics with a superb free-kick winner as injury-depleted Juventus laboured to a 2-1 win at Chievo to stretch their Serie A lead Sunday.

Roma have the chance to reduce the gap to four points later when they host Bologna at the Stadio Olimpico.

In a hard-fought encounter that saw defender Andrea Barzagli stretchered off after just four minutes, Juventus were given another reminder their bid for a record sixth consecutive league title is far from being a formality.

Although Napoli are now nine points adrift after their 1-1 draw at home to Lazio on Saturday, AC Milan maintained their purple patch with a precious 2-1 win at Palermo.

It moved Vincenzo Montella's men up to provisional second at five points behind Juventus, whose bid for glory at home and in Europe is exacting a heavy toll.

With Roma expected to reclaim second spot and Lazio in fourth place at eight points adrift, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was delighted with the win.

"The lads played well, we created quite a few chances and probably should have won with a bigger margin," he said.

"But it's a precious win from a difficult match that has come amid a tough month of fixtures.

"Opponents are getting tougher to beat all the time, so we can't look any further ahead than the next game."

"I asked Higuain and Mandzukic to give me everything, and they did," added Allegri.

“We needed someone to run between the lines and in the absence of Dybala, Higuain is doing a fine job."