Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain scored a second-half hat-trick as the champions routed a hapless Sassuolo 7-0 in Serie A.
Juve stayed second, however, as leaders Napoli won 2-0 at table-propping Benevento, helped by a gem of a goal from Dries Mertens, to keep them one point ahead of the Turin side. The leading pair have both won their last seven games.
Alex Sandro gave Juventus a ninth-minute lead in Sunday's clash and two quick goals from Sami Khedira put the Turin side three goals up. Miralem Pjanic added a fourth before halftime, according to a Reuters report.
Higuain burst on to the scene with a hat-trick between the 63rd and 83rd minutes.
The Argentine opened his account with a clinical finish, then latched on to Claudio Marchisio’s long pass before rounding Andrea Consigli to score.
He completed his hat-trick by playing a one-two with Federico Bernardeschi before dinking the ball over the bemused Sassuolo goalkeeper.
Elsewhere, AS Roma ended a six-match winless run in the league by beating Verona 1-0 with a first-minute goal by Cengiz Under while, in a bizarre game, both Bologna and Fiorentina scored directly from corners in a three-minute spell.
Napoli have 60 points from 23 games with Juventus on 59 before a big gap to Lazio on 46, Inter Milan (45) and Roma (44).
