Promoted Palermo, overawed and packing almost no attacking threat or ambition, were the perfect opponents for Juventus who barely broke sweat for a 2-0 win which put them three points ahead of second-placed AS Roma.
The Juventus Stadium has become an almost impregnable fortress since it was opened for the 2011/12 season, helping to turn the Old Lady back into the dominant force in Italian football.
Compact and intimidating, in contrast to the vast, windswept open spaces of the old Stadio Delle Alpi, the sparkling new arena has played a key part in helping its owners win three successive Serie A titles since its opening.
In all that time, Juve have lost only two home league matches, both in 2012/13, and last season they won all 19 home games on their way to amassing 102 points to finish 17 clear of second-placed Roma.
It has almost been too easy, as Sunday's game showed.
Palermo only threatened twice, in a one-minute spell during the first half, and the rest was all one-way traffic with Juventus enjoying a whopping 65 percent of possession.
Despite what coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted was a "poor" first half, they were never under pressure.
"We played a poor first half, we didn't move the ball around quickly enough, we certainly did much better in the second half," he told reporters.
PEDESTRIAN PACE
The pedestrian pace would have been especially noticeable to anyone who might have watched matches in the Bundesliga, Premier League or La Liga over the weekend.
Most other visiting sides in Serie A are similarly deferential, with the possible exception of Roma, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Napoli.
The problem is that when Juventus venture into Europe, things are very different. The opposition come at them, even if they are from supposedly lesser leagues such as Portugal, Turkey or Greece.
Two seasons ago, Juve were given a footballing lesson by Bayern Munich, losing 4-0 on aggregate in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Last term, they were eliminated in the group stage by Galatasaray and dropped into the Europa League, where they lost to Benfica.
Successive 1-0 defeats to Atletico Madrid and Olympiakos means they are struggling again this season.
Poor performances by Italian teams in Europe are becoming too common to be seen as just bad luck.
Fiorentina were the only one of the five Serie A teams in European competition to win last week, with Roma suffering a 7-1 thrashing at home to Bayern Munich.
Earlier this month, Juventus beat Roma 3-2 in a fiery top-of-the-table clash which had everything, including three penalties and three red cards, prompting a nationwide outcry over the refereeing.
But it is matches such as Sunday's limp affair that Italian football should be really worried about.
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Rex Gowar)
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