Juventus were ruthless as they swept aside Cremonese 5-0 in Serie A, maintaining their perfect head-to-head record against Le Tigri this century with a fourth consecutive victory.

La Vecchia Signora settled quickly and almost took an early lead when Jonathan David capitalised on a loose pass, only to see his effort strike the post from a tight angle. The breakthrough soon followed in the 12th minute, albeit with a touch of fortune, as Fabio Miretti’s strike deflected off Gleison Bremer and wrong-footed Emil Audero on its way into the net.

Juventus doubled their advantage just three minutes later. Khephren Thuram surged forward from midfield before laying the ball into the path of David, who took a steadying touch and finished calmly.

Cremonese briefly thought they had a route back into the contest when a penalty was awarded for Manuel Locatelli’s challenge on Dennis Johnsen. However, the decision was overturned following a review, and head coach Davide Nicola was dismissed to the stands amid the ensuing protests.

Matters worsened for the visitors soon after when Juventus were awarded a penalty of their own following Federico Baschirotto’s handball. Although Kenan Yildiz saw his initial spot-kick pushed onto the post by Audero, the rebound fell kindly for the forward to convert.

Yildiz continued to threaten, forcing another save from Audero after dancing into the box, while Weston McKennie headed wide from the resulting corner.

Any lingering hopes Cremonese had were extinguished early in the second half. Just three minutes after the restart, McKennie rounded Audero and, although Matteo Bianchetti attempted to clear his effort, the ball ricocheted in off Filippo Terracciano for an unfortunate own goal.

Audero produced further saves to deny McKennie and Yildiz, but Juventus’ pressure told again in the 64th minute when McKennie powered home a header, the goalkeeper unable to prevent the goal despite getting a faint touch.

Cremonese were denied even a consolation. Michele Di Gregorio made an excellent save to keep out Alberto Grassi, before Matteo Bianchetti saw a header from the subsequent corner ruled out for handball. Jonathan David also had a goal disallowed for offside, but by then Juventus’ dominance was long established.

The comprehensive victory marks a sixth win in seven matches across all competitions for Juventus. They move up to fourth in the Serie A standings, four points behind leaders Inter Milan, albeit having played a game more. Cremonese, meanwhile, remain 13th after suffering their fourth defeat in six outings.