The victory ended a run of three straight defeats and eased the pressure on Juve coach Luigi Delneri. Matri’s goals sandwiched a strike from Cagliari’s Robert Acquafresca before Luca Toni scored a late clincher.
Cagliari goalkeeper Michael Agazzi had a match to forget as he was at fault for all three Juve goals. On 20 minutes Matri tried his luck from just inside the area, shooting hard towards the near post but although Agazzi looked to have it covered, he let it slip through his grasp.
Udinese continued their bid for a Champions League finish as they beat Sampdoria 2-0 to move to within a point of the top four. It was their fifth win, alongside two draws, since the turn of the year and only Inter Milan have gained more points than them in 2011. Striker Antonio Di Natale reached 100 league goals for the club as he notched the second following Alexis Sanchez’s opener.
For Sampdoria it was a fourth straight defeat in all competitions as the club continues to slide following the departure of strike-pair Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini.