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Juan Cuadrado's early header gave Juventus a narrow win over Sampdoria as the champions went eight points clear at the top of Serie A.

The Colombia winger, who is on a three-year loan from Chelsea, met Kwadwo Asamoah's seventh-minute cross with a diving header.

Roma stayed in second with a 3-1 win over Sassuolo, while third-placed Napoli beat Empoli 3-2.

The only negative for Juventus was a first-half injury to Paulo Dybala.

The Argentina forward limped off after 28 minutes, but coach Massimiliano Allegri was quick to allay concerns.

"Paulo felt a twinge at the back of his thigh but shouldn't be anything serious," said Allegri.

"It was fundamental to win this match because we play Napoli after the break. We had one of the best first halves of the season, for our intensity and the chances we created."

In the 65th minute of Sunday's match, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon reached 39,681 Serie A minutes for the Old Lady, beating the record set by Giampiero Boniperti.

Napoli briefly moved up to second with their victory over Empoli. Lorenzo Insigne scored twice as Napoli went 3-0 up before surviving a late comeback to move a point ahead of Roma.

But that lead lasted a matter of hours, as goals from Edin Dzeko, Mohamed Salah and Leandro Paredes saw Roma re-establish their grip on second place.