Cristiano Ronaldo scored a strong penalty kick and created goals for Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain when Juventus beat Lecce 10-man 4-0 on Friday to stretch their lead over Lazio to the top of Serie A to seven points.
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Ronaldo, 35, had established his post in the first half with a stunt kick, and when Fabio Lucioni of Lecce received a direct red card for a clumsy challenge after 32 minutes, the visitors were left with a mountain to climb.
Juve took the lead in the 53rd minute when Ronaldo fed Dybala, who fired an excellent shot in the upper corner. Ronaldo converted a penalty nine minutes later after being knocked down in the box.
The Turin side dominated possession at all times, and although Lecce valiantly tried to play the ball from behind to launch his own attacks, they struggled to get out of their own half.
An ingenious backheel from the Portuguese striker set up substitute Higuain to score in the 83rd minute, and Matthijs de Ligt added the fourth with a short-range header from the center of Douglas Costa to complete the loss.
Juventus, seeking its ninth successive Italian title, moved to 69 points after 28 games, seven ahead of Lazio, which has a game in hand.
Lecce remained in third place with 25 points, behind Genoa on goal difference and one point adrift of Sampdoria in 16th place.
