Matri, who only six days ago scored two goals at the same venue in a Cagliari shirt, put Juve ahead after 20 minutes and gave them the lead again in the 75th minute after Robert Acquafresca had brought the home side level early in the second half.

Luca Toni then sealed the win for Juve with his 100th Serie A goal just seconds after Cagliari had a seemingly valid goal disallowed.

In today's other match, Udinese returned to winning ways after their midweek draw with Bologna to move up to fifth in the standings.

Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Antonio Di Natale in the first half sealed a 2-0 win for the Bianconeri, their fifth victory in the last seven games.

Samp tried to find a way back into the match in the second half but, in stark contrast to Udinese's fine form, they have now lost five of their last seven as their crisis deepens.