The weather has been playing havoc with soccer fixtures in Italy all week but Serie A leaders Juventus have survived the big freeze and managed to cement their grip on the standings, without even playing.
Juve’s game at Parma was called off leaving them an anxious 24-hour wait to see if they would lose the league leadership.
But AC Milan crashed 2-0 at Lazio, meaning Juve held onto top spot ahead of the visit of Siena this weekend.
“The midweek games provided a table that still makes us smile,” said Juve captain Alessandro Del Piero.
“With a one-point advantage (over Milan) and a game in hand, we have to take advantage of the opportunity to escape, even though it’s still too soon to stop and look at the table.”
There is still almost half the season to go but, with temperatures of up to -10C expected in the north this weekend, the weather promises to have yet more of a say.
Already three scheduled evening games have had to be brought forward to the afternoon to give them a better chance of going ahead.
What this has done is reopen a raging debate in Italy about the state of venues in the country.
Juve are the only club to own their custom-built stadium while everyone else rents theirs from the local council.
Those other stadiums are mostly old and outdated with poor facilities and no contingency plans for icy conditions.
When games are called off in Italy, it is rarely because the pitch is frozen but because the areas around the ground used by fans are deemed too dangerous.
And while Turin is one of the worst-affected areas in the country, the Juventus Stadium has held up well to the snow.
The efficient stadium is indicative of a well-oiled Juve machine that remains unbeaten this season and has proved beyond doubt they are capable of putting successive, miserable, seventh-placed finishes behind them and challenging for the title.
And if anything, their rivals seem to be facilitating affairs.
Lazio had previously slipped away by losing at Inter Milan, who were on a seven-game winning run until the last week where one point from six has dropped them eight points behind Juve having played a game more.
They also face a much tougher weekend game as they host Napoli, themselves beset by problems and inconsistency.
Roma host Inter in a clash that could prove crucial to the European places. Fourth-placed Lazio travel to Genoa and third-placed Udinese will be at Fiorentina.