Paulo Dybala has been somewhat obscured by Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at Juventus but the Argentine broke his goal-scoring drought on Wednesday.
Dybala scored the opener to set Juventus on its way to a 2-0 win over Bologna in Serie A. Ronaldo, who has netted three goals in his past two league matches, didn't get on the scoresheet but did set up Blaise Matuidi for Juve's second in the 16th minute.
Juventus is the only team with a perfect league record and the Italian champion will be full of confidence ahead of two key matches: against last season's runner-up Napoli on Saturday, and a Champions League group game with Young Boys next week.
"The understanding between Ronaldo and Dybala was good tonight. The more they play together, the better they understand each other, it's normal," Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. "But I think Dybala and Cristiano can do well even playing behind (Mario) Mandzukic.
"I should have substituted Ronaldo but he really wanted a goal. He had a good game too."
Bologna picked up its first win — and first goals — against Roma on the weekend but Juventus was in control from the start.
The Bianconeri took the lead in somewhat fortuitous circumstances when a ball over the top came off Dybala's back and fell to Matuidi. His effort was parried away but Dybala acrobatically volleyed it in for his first goal of the season.
Matuidi added the second five minutes later when Ronaldo rolled the ball across the face of the goal for him to slot in from a tight angle.
EASY DOES IT
Napoli looked just as comfortable ahead of Saturday's clash, as it strolled to a 3-0 win over Parma.
Carlo Ancelotti again rotated his squad, making nine changes from Sunday's 3-1 win at Torino.
"Picking the lineup on Saturday will be a real headache, because the players who didn't play today could have played," Ancelotti said. "We are doing well and it will be difficult to decide. I knew at Torino that those who had been left out would play. That gave us freshness and an advantage in respect to Parma, which changed a lot less.
"Everyone's training well, they're motivated, they accept decisions without problems. At the moment things are working well, maybe Saturday night we'll say the opposite but that's football."
Arkadiusz Milik scored two second-half goals. The Poland international has struggled with serious knee injuries since his arrival at Napoli and it was the first time he had scored twice in a match since September 2016.
Lorenzo Insigne, who set up Milik's second, scored the opener for his fifth goal of the season.
PERFECT FIVE
Lazio will also be confident heading into this weekend's capital derby against Roma after recording a fifth consecutive victory with a 2-1 win at Udinese.
Lazio went in front in the 60th minute when Udinese goalkeeper Simone Scuffet could only parry Luis Alberto's free kick and Francesco Acerbi volleyed in the rebound from close range for his first goal for the club.
Joaquin Correa also added his first Lazio goal six minutes later. The Argentine beat Jens Stryger Larsen on the left of the penalty area, leaving the Denmark international on his backside, and slotted into the far corner from a tight angle.
Lazio then had a nervy final 10 minutes after Bram Nuytinck's overhead kick was deflected into the back of the net by Milan Badelj.
OTHER MATCHES
Roma bounced back from its surprise defeat to Bologna, by crushing Frosinone 4-0.
It got off to a stunning start as Cengiz Under ran from inside his own half before blasting past Marco Sportiello from 30 yards. Javier Pastore, Stephan El Shaarawy and Aleksandar Kolarov completed the scoring.
Frosinone, which hit the post late, is still yet to score this season but Chievo Verona remained bottom after losing 2-0 at Genoa. Chievo was deducted three points for false accounting. It is appealing the decision.
Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno saved a late penalty from Sampdoria's Dawid Kownacki in a 0-0 draw in which the woodwork was hit three times.
Atalanta's game against Torino also ended 0-0.
Source: AP/UNB
