Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Juventus bounced back from their midweek Champions League defeat by Manchester United with a 2-0 win over 10-man AC Milan in Serie A on Sunday, as Gonzalo Higuain missed a penalty before being sent off for the hosts. Mario Mandzukic headed in the opener in the eighth minute at the San Siro with Ronaldo adding a second on 81 minutes as Juventus maintained their six-point cushion ahead of the international break.
It got the defending seven-time Serie A champions back on track after suffering their first defeat of the season by United following two late goals despite Ronaldo's stunning volley. A third loss of the campaign, however, saw AC Milan drop out of the Champions League places behind Lazio who moved back into fourth despite a 1-1 draw at Sassuolo.
Inter Milan's seven-match winning streak ended with a 4-1 defeat at Atalanta, with Luciano Spalletti's side losing second place to Napoli who came from behind to beat Genoa 2-1 on Saturday. Juventus have 34 points from 12 games - six ahead of Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli with Inter a further three behind. Massimiliano Allegri's side rarely looked threatened by AC Milan with Mandzukic rising highest to nod in an Alex Sandro cross to dampen spirits among the 74,729-capacity crowd at the San Siro.
The Croatian World Cup runner-up could have made it two shortly after meeting a cross this time from Ronaldo but Milan skipper Alessio Romagnoli blocked. Higuain returned from a back problem to face his parent club but it was to be a nightmare outing for the forward who had been loaned out to Milan last summer to make space for Ronaldo. The Argentine missed a penalty awarded after Medhi Benatia handled in the area five minutes before the break with Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny tipping the ball onto the post.
Ronaldo tested Gianluigi Donnarumma in the AC Milan goal early in the second half before finally blasting in nine minutes from time for his first goal at the San Siro. Minutes later Higuain saw red after shouting at the referee in frustration after a foul on Benatia, and was led off the pitch in tears. Earlier on Sunday, defender Gianluca Mancini scored for a third consecutive game as Atalanta dominated Inter Milan at home in Bergamo.
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