Inter Milan returned to the Serie A summit with a 4-0 win over Udinese at the San Siro.
Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico Di Marco and Marcus Thruam rewarded Nerazzurri dominance in a seven-minute scoring burst before half-time.
Lautaro Martinez put the gloss on victory six minutes from time by winning possession and advancing to lash home his 14th goal of the season from 20 yards.
Udinese might have argued their plan to shackle Inter was working until Nehuen Perez pulled back Martinez and Calhanoglu converted from the penalty spot after 37 minutes.
This was Inter’s 12th win from 15 league games and again took them two points clear of Juventus, who had beaten champions Napoli on Friday.
Udinese arrived at the San Siro – scene of their only league victory this season against Milan last month – as Serie A draw specialists, with the points being shared in nine of their 14 games.
But Udinese’s cause was not helped by the absence of injured defenders Jaka Bijol and Enzo Ebosse and the writing was on the wall inside 10 minutes.
Christian Kabasele twice cut out dangerous crosses and Martinez headed Di Marco’s cross against a post.
A fine Inter move also split open the visitors as Yann Bisseck, making his first Serie A start, crossed from the byline but Di Marco lacked the power to beat the diving Marco Silvestri.
Udinese escaped their own half for the first time and Roberto Pereyra fired wide when the veteran Argentinian might have been expected to do better.
Thuram headed over and Calhanoglu drove just wide before Udinese were let down by rash defending from Perez.
Martinez was attempting to reach Di Marco’s cross but Perez guaranteed that he would not, fouling his fellow countryman to prompt a lengthy VAR check which ended with Calhanoglu sending Silvestri the wrong way for his fourth goal in five league games.
Calhanoglu was involved again as Inter doubled their lead within five minutes, the Turkish midfielder setting up Di Marco who drilled an unstoppable left-footed drive past Silvestri.
The best was still to come before the break from a flowing 21-pass Inter move.
Di Marco stepped up the urgency and an incisive pass from Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave Thuram a simple tap-in for his seventh goal of the campaign.
Inter’s intensity dropped after the break and Udinese went close when goalkeeper Yann Sommer failed to hold substitute Sandi Lovric’s shot from the edge of the area.
Lorenzo Lucca dispatched the rebound but the on-loan striker was standing in an offside position and the final word belonged to Serie A top scorer Martinez.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with AC Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to AC Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A, but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
'Super simple' – Lille president rules out January exit for Jonathan David
Lille president Olivier Letang has categorically ruled out a January exit for forward Jonathan David amid links with a number of European clubs.
David is out of contract at the end of the season and has been touted as a target for the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Barcelona.
Speaking this week, the Canada international named Barcelona as his "dream" club but suggested he would prefer not to leave Lille mid-season.
And in an interview with After Foot RMC, Letang confirmed no bids have yet been tabled ahead of the January window.
"We are not going to sell him in January, and we have not received any offer for him," he said.
"Jonathan's situation is super simple. We are very happy to have him with us.
"Last season he had one more year left on his contract. We were trying to qualify for the Champions League.
"You have a guy who scores 20 to 25 goals a season. We had no obligation to sell him."
David is into his fifth season with Lille and has scored 97 goals in 202 games for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions while assisting a further 18.
Seven of those goals have arrived in 11 appearances this term, including in Champions League games against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.
The 24-year-old's best league season with Lille saw him score 24 goals in 2022-23, while he has netted 19, 15 and 13 in the other full campaigns.
Lille chief Letang reiterated that David has been offered a new deal to stay on at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but selling him has never been an option.
"He is a player who scores between 20 and 25 goals and helps us qualify for the Champions League," he said.
"Plus, Jonathan loves Lille, which is his club. Our position was very clear from the beginning – we think of the athlete.
"Obviously, he already has an offer that is in his hands, the ball is in his court."
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