Juventus went 10 points clear at the top of Serie A on Friday with a 4-1 win over struggling Palermo in a perfectly-timed boost ahead of their Champions League trip to Porto next week.

Former Palermo star Paulo Dybala played a pivotal role as the Argentina international pushed his former employers closer to the drop by scoring twice, creating another and also seeing a free-kick come back off the woodwork.

"We ended the first half at 2-0 despite not playing well," said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.

"It's one game less to winning the Scudetto and I congratulate the players for the way they approached the game."

Palermo started the day eight points from safety and they were under the cosh almost from the start on Friday.

Dybala, who moved to Turin after three seasons at Palermo in 2015, was just centimetres from the opener after only five minutes when he clipped the post with a left-footed free-kick.