MILAN, MARCH 15 (REUTERS): Juventus claimed their 12th league win in a row when they beat Atalanta 2-0 on Wednesday in a match originally postponed by snow to go four points clear of Napoli at the top of Serie A. Gonzalo Higuain and Blaise Matuidi scored in each half of a typically efficient performance which left the Turin side as favourites to win a seventh successive title. Juventus also kept a clean sheet for the eighth Serie A match in a row and have yet to concede a goal in the league this year. Atalanta finished with 10 men after Gianluca Mancini was booked twice in as many minutes and sent off. Juve's opening goal was almost entirely down to Douglas Costa, the Brazilian winger winning the ball in his own half and then running 50 metres before releasing Higuain, who advanced and placed his shot past Etrit Berisha. It was the feisty Argentine forward's 15th league goal of the season. Mancini was sent off in the 79th minute after successive bookable fouls on Higuain and Giorgio Chiellini and Juve immediately added a second. Paulo Dybala sent a low cross into the area to Higuain and he found an unmarked Matuidi who swept the ball home for the second. Juventus have 74 points from 28 games -- 24 wins, two draws and two defeats -- while Napoli are on 70. The Turin side visit SPAL on Saturday where they have a chance to open up a seven-point lead before Napoli host Genoa on Sunday. Allegri delights in Juve's defensive mean streak Nothing pleases Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri and his players more than a good defensive display. The Serie A leaders now boast both the best attack as well as the meanest defence in the league but it is the latter statistic which fills Allegri with the most pride. Juventus, chasing a seventh successive title, beat Atalanta 2-0 on Wednesday to move four points clear at the top of the table and have yet to let in a Serie A goal this year. Verona were the last team to breach Juve's rearguard on Dec. 30 and, in all, they have conceded 15 goals in 28 games while scoring 67, one more than Lazio. "Which statistic do I prefer most? Having the best defence," Allegri told reporters after Wednesday's win. Allegri said he was delighted to see goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and defender Giorgio Chiellini celebrate a key intervention as if they had scored a goal, just as they did in the Champions League win at Tottenham Hotspur a week ago. "Enthusiasm is important and it's wonderful to see Buffon and Chiellini like that, even after everything they've won. It means they've still got the same hunger," he said. "This team enjoys defending and that's a crucial part of the sport." Juve's next match is away to lowly SPAL on Saturday when they could deal the psychological blow of opening up a seven-point lead over rivals Napoli, who have to wait until Sunday evening for their match at home to Genoa. It is a familiar story for fans of other teams who have become used to seeing Juventus weather a bumpy patch earlier in the season to hit form just at the right time. The Turin side are exactly where they want to be in mid-March, leading Serie A and qualified for the Coppa Italia final -- where they face AC Milan -- and Champions League quarter-finals. "The whole squad has the same aim which is to win the seventh Scudetto, go forward in the Champions League and win the Coppa Italia," Allegri added. He was also delighted to note that his team had been unaffected by rotation. "The good thing is we made five or six changes to the side on Sunday and we did the same again today but the result didn't change. We want to go all the way together," he said. Allegri warned, however, that the race was still far from over with Napoli still to visit Juventus in April. "We mustn't start thinking the Scudetto is suddenly in the bag," he said. "It's a decisive stage of the season but we must take things one step at a time, keep our heads and replenish our mental energy. You have to keep raising the bar in every game."
