Juventus opened a four-point lead in the Serie A with a Alessandro Matri brace helping them to a 2-1 win over Udinese in Turin.

The win preserved Juve’s unbeaten league record and opened up a provisional four-point lead over AC Milan, who host Cagliari on Sunday, while Udinese could see Inter Milan draw level with them if the Nerazzurri can win at Lecce.

Juve moved to 44 points from 20 games but were eternally grateful to Matri for his predatory instincts after Antonio Floro Flores had threatened to bag a point for the visitors.

Matri’s winner just after the hour mark owed much to an inspired substitution by Juve coach Antonio Conte, who sent on Claudio Marchisio for ex-Udinese favourite Fabio Quagliarella.

Marchisio promptly diverted an Arturo Vidal cross right into Matri’s path and the striker lashed the ball past visiting goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to clinch a crucial win.

Matri had notched his opener from point-blank range after Handanovic had palmed out a near-post header from Quagliarella straight to the lurking forward three minutes before the interval.

But substitute Floro Flores pilfered the equaliser 10 minutes after the restart, curling a neat effort beyond Gianluigi Buffon for his second goal of the season.

Earlier on Saturday, Catania and Parma shared a 1-1 draw that left both clubs in mid-table.