Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench and netted a brace to inspire Juventus to a 4-1 hammering of Spezia on Sunday afternoon.
Ronaldo returned a negative test for Covid-19 on Friday and was named on the bench by manager Andrea Pirlo, with Weston McKennie, Arthur and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon handed re-calls.
Bianconeri had a bright start after Alvaro Morata broke the deadlock in the first quarter of an hour with a tap-in at the back post after a square pass by McKennie and although the goal was initially ruled out for offside by the referee, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) overtuned that decision.
Morata had a goal in the back of the net again in the 24th minute after racing past the defence to go through but this time it did not count, as it was chalked off for offside.
Spezia were playing on the counter-attack and Tommaso Pobega levelled matters in the 32nd minute with a deflected strike inside the box that wrong-footed Buffon.
Juventus should have restored their lead on the stroke of half-time after Morata setup McKennie with a square pass that needed a finish into a gaping net but Julian Chabot made goal-saving clearance to deny the American midfield.
The Old Lady were struggling to create chances after the break, which saw Pirlo finally introduce Ronaldo ten minutes inside the second stanza in place of Paulo Dybala.
Ronaldo had an imediate impact, as he restored the lead for Juventus barely three minutes after coming on after going through on goal from Morata's pass to dribble past goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and score into an empty net.
Kevin Agudelo thought he had levelled matters for Spezia in the 64th minute after tapping home a rebound from Buffon's save from a corner situation but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Adrien Rabiot gave Juventus a two-goal cushion in the 68th minute just after coming on after beating the offside trap from Federico Chiesa's pass before rounding Provedel to slot into an empty.
Bianconeri were awarded penalty in the last quarter of an hour after Paolo Bartolomei brought down Chiesa inside the box and Ronaldo made it 4-1 with a chip over Provedel from the spot-kick to complete his brace.
Spezia fancied their chances of getting another consolation goal in the closing minutes but Juventus kept their shape and sealed an emphatic win that saw them move up to second on the log, although they could be leapfrogged by either Napoli or Sassuolo who play each other later in the evening.