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A rampant second-half display from Juventus saw them run riot against Spezia at the Allianz Stadium.
The hosts came into the game on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw away to Hellas Verona, and manager Andrea Pirlo responded by making several changes to his starting lineup.
Matthijs de Ligt was dropped to the bench, with Alex Sandro replacing him at the heart of Juventus' defense. Left-back Gianluca Frabotta was also handed a rare start.
While Danilo returned from a one-game suspension, Aaron Ramsey was left out of the starting line-up, with Weston McKennie starting in his stead.
A bright start to the first-half saw Juventus dominate possession, but a dogged Spezia defense kept them at bay.
The Italian champions were also let down by some poor decision-making in the final third when they managed to breach the visitors' defense, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Dejan Kulusevski the most guilty culprits.
On the hour mark, Federico Bernardeschi came on for Fabrotta, while Alvaro Morata was introduced in place of Kulusevski. It took less than two minutes for the two substitutes to make their mark.
Alex Sandro played an excellent pass between the lines that allowed Bernardeschi to run down the left-flank. The Italy international subsequently squared the ball into the box, with Morata tapping it into the net.
The goal, however, was chalked off for offside in the build-up, but a lengthy VAR review overruled the linesman to put Juventus one-nil up.
The goal provided the hosts with added impetus and they doubled their lead less than 10 minutes later.
Another square ball from Bernardeschi was directed towards goal by Fedrico Chiesa. But after seeing his initial shot saved by Provedel, the former Fiorentina man showed great instinct to pouce on the rebound and slot home with an improvised finish.
From then on, it was cruise control for Pirlo's side, but they managed to score another goal in the 89th minute when Ronaldo converted Rodrigo Bentancur's pass.
Spezia could have reduced the arrears deep in injury-time when the VAR awarded them a penalty for a foul on Emmanuel Gyasi by Merih Demiral. Andriy Galabinov stepped up to take the ensuing spot-kick but saw his shot saved by Wojciech Szczęsny with practically the last kick of the game.
The victory saw Juventus reduce their gap with league leaders Inter Milan to seven points as they returned to winning ways ahead of their marquee clash with Lazio on Saturday.
Here are five talking points from the game.
#5 Juventus keep alive title hopes
The nine-time defending Serie A champions face a real battle to make it 10-in-a row.
A rampant Inter Milan are currently atop the standings and show no signs of stopping, while city rivals AC Milan have also impressed this season.
Juventus, on the other hand, have been wildly inconsistent in the present campaign. Their tame stalemate with Hellas Verona last weekend underlined why they are currently lagging in the title race.
Last night, anything other than a victory would have effectively ruled them out of the title race, and it was against this backdrop that the Turin giants hosted Spezia.
Despite not starting at an optimum against the newly-promoted side, Pirlo's team ultimately raised the ante in the second-half and got the job done in a professional manner.
The win ensured that Juventus are still in with a shout at winning the league for the 10th consecutive time.
Despite the victory, there is still a long way to go in the race, which is effectively not in the Bianconeri's hands. However, the three points ensured that Juventus would be on hand to take advantage of an unlikely slip-up by the top two.
#4 Federico Bernardeschi makes an impact after coming on
Federico Bernardeschi has failed to make a lasting impact in his Juventus career. The 27-year-old struggles for the requisite consistency of a player operating at the highest level, and it has seen him drift in and out of the starting line-up.
Having started the game on the bench, the former Fiorentina man entered the fray on the hour mark and made an instant impact by providing the assist for Morata's opener.
He also set Chiesa up for the second goal and proved to be a thorn in the flesh of the Spezia defense during his time on the field.
It was an inspired performance from the Italy international and Juventus fans will hope he can build on it to end the season on a high.
#3 Andrea Pirlo shows tactical prowess with inspired changes
Andrea Pirlo has received a lot of flak throughout his Juventus managerial tenure for his seeming lack of tactical dexterity.
The World Cup winner is still very much cutting his teeth in the dugout and can be excused for not having had a firm grasp of things.
However, the demands at a club of Juventus' stature mean that there is very little margin for error, and Pirlo is under severe pressure less than seven months into his tenure.
Against Spezia, Juventus huffed and puffed in vain for an hour before their manager decided to switch things up.
Kulusevski was ineffective and was substituted for Alvaro Morata, while Federico Bernardeschi came on for Fabrotta.
More crucially, Pirlo switched to a 3-5-2 system that saw traditional wingers Chiesa and Bernardeschi play as wing-backs. It had an instant impact on the game, with Bernardeschi assisting fellow substitute Morata with practically their first touches in the game.
It also saw Juventus effectively use the width of the pitch to put Spezia on the backfoot.
With crucial games against more experienced tacticians coming up, Pirlo will have to depend on his ability to read matches if he wants to come out on top. He showed a glimpse of this tactical nous with his substitutions against Spezia.
#2 Spezia fail to offer anything against Juventus
On paper, Spezia seemingly had no chance against the defending champions.
However, the hosts' struggles in recent weeks suggested that they were there for the taking.
Although Spezia did not offer much in an attacking sense, their defending was top-notch in the first hour of the game.
Rather surprisingly, Vicenzo Italiano's men had more possession (53%), but registered just one shot on target across the 90 minutes.
They also fluffed their lines when awarded a late penalty, which surmised their non-existent attacking threat on the night.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo creates another record
Cristiano Ronaldo came into the game one goal ahead of Romelu Lukaku, who has 18 Serie A strikes to his name.
The Belgium international has been rampant this season, with his form acting as the driving force behind Inter Milan's title charge.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been no mean slouch either, scoring five goals in his last five league games.
Having endured a rather frustrating game, it looked like the Portuguese ace was going to draw a blank.
But he had other ideas and put Spezia to the sword with a well-taken strike. He now has 20 league goals from just 21 games.
It also saw him become the first man to score 20 or more goals in the last 12 seasons in Europe's top five leagues, highlighting what an extraordinary athlete he is.
