Juventus have extended their lead at the top of Serie A to 14 points courtesy of a 1-0 win over bottom-placed Catania this evening.

The visitors almost opened the scoring after just 11 minutes when Andrea Pirlo attempted to curl a trademark free kick into the top corner, but his effort went narrowly over.

They carved out another good opportunity midway through the first half when Pablo Osvaldo picked up the ball in a good position, only to steer a shot well off target.

Osvaldo threatened again in the 58th minute as the ball rebounded to him inside the area, but he couldn't keep his shot down as it flew just over the bar.

The former Southampton striker turned provider a minute later as he picked out Carlos Tevez with a pass, allowing the Argentine to find the bottom corner and give his side the lead.

Things went from bad to worse for Catania in the 67th minute when Gonzalo Bergessio picked up his second yellow card of the evening, forcing the hosts to play the last 23 minutes with 10 men.

Juve almost capitalised on their extra man within 10 minutes as Pirlo again threatened with a set piece, only being denied with his free kick by a Mariano Andujar stop.

Tevez then came close to doubling his personal tally for the evening when he embarked on a solo run that ended with him placing a shot just wide.

The visitors could not add to their lead, however, as they were forced to make do with just the one goal to tighten their grip on the Serie A title.