Juve beat Lazio, Cesena hold Samp
Juventus moved ever closer to clinching a fourth straight Serie A title by beating nearest challengers Lazio 2-0 in Turin.
First-half goals from Carlos Tevez - his 26th of the season in all competitions - and centre-back Leonardo Bonucci pushed Juve 15 points clear of second place with only seven games remaining.
Lazio did mount a late rally at the Juventus Stadium but the dismissal of midfielder Danilo Cataldi for a heavy tackle on Tevez ended their challenge. The result brought Lazio's run of six consecutive victories to an end and the Biancocelesti could be dragged back into third place should their city rivals Roma beat Atalanta in the capital on Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, ambitious Sampdoria were held to an unlikely goalless draw by Cesena but used the point to move up to fifth place. The Genoa club dominated their relegation-threatened opponents from start to finish but found goalkeeper Federico Agliardi an immovable object when their radar was not malfunctioning.
Samp are now level on Napoli with 50 points while 18th-placed Cesena are six points shy of Atalanta and safety with seven games still to play.