Alexis Sanchez had an eventful full debut for Inter Milan as he scored before later being sent off in his side's 3-1 win at Sampdoria.
The on-loan Manchester United forward opened his goal account for the Italian giants when he put them 2-0 up in the 22nd minute, but was given his marching orders in the 47th minute for a second bookable offence.
His dismissal did not cost the Nerazzurri, however, as they claimed a sixth successive victory to maintain their two-point lead over Juventus at the top of Serie A.
Antonio Conte's men looked set to ease to victory over the bottom club when two goals in quick succession from Stefano Sensi and Sanchez swept them into a 2-0 lead.
After Sanchez's dismissal - following a yellow card for an apparent dive - Jakub Jankto gave Sampdoria hope, before Roberto Gagliardi added Inter's third.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to injury as Juve kept their grip on second place with a 2-0 win over struggling SPAL.
Miralem Pjanic put the champions in front with a curling strike on the stroke of half-time, and Ronaldo directed home his side's second 12 minutes from time.
Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon made his 903rd appearance in club football, beating the previous record of 902 he shared with Paolo Maldini.
Atalanta strengthened their hold on third place after cruising to a 4-1 win at Sassuolo in the evening kick-off.
Alejandro Gomez scored twice and Robin Gosens and Duvan Zapata also made it onto the scoresheet before the hosts netted a consolation through Gregoire Defrel.
