Gonzalo Higuain hit a rapid hat-trick and Sami Khedira two in three minutes as champions Juventus piled the pressure on Napoli in the Serie A title chase with a 7-0 win over Sassuolo on Sunday. Juventus were 4-0 up by half-time after Alex Sandro opened the scoring on nine minutes in Turin with a quick-fire Khedira brace and a Miralem Pjanic goal burying an overwhelmed Sassuolo.
Argentine ace Higuain dominated the second half with a hat-trick in a 20-minute spell to bring his league tally to 13 as Juventus went top of the table two-points ahead of Napoli who play at bottom side Benevento later Sunday. Sassuolo are rooted in 15th position.
"We cannot afford any slip-ups with Napoli having an extraordinary championship. It was important to win today so we could definitively break away from the chasing pack, who are now 14 points away," said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri. "Many players are beginning to reach their peak."
Blaise Matuidi went off with a muscular injury and Allegri said he expected the French international would be out of the Champions League clash against Tottenham on February 13. "Blaise Matuidi seems to have a muscular issue, but we have players like Claudio Marchisio and Paulo Dybala who are getting closer to fitness," added the Juventus coach.