Having seen their lead cut by Roma's 4-0 success over Fiorentina on Tuesday, second-half goals from Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain kept Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus on course for a sixth straight scudetto.
"We could have done better in the first half, especially in the speed of our passing, but overall we were organised, giving away little or nothing and approaching the game with lucidity and organisation," said Allegri.
The defeat leaves Crotone languishing in 19th place and nine points from safety.
The Calabrians did not disgrace themselves and proved stubborn opposition for an hour.
But they ran out of steam as Croatian Mandzukic converted a rebound following a header from Kwadwo Asamoah on 60 minutes.
With 16 minutes left, Higuain calmly slotted home when faced with only goalkeeper Alex Cordaz to beat.
That took his season's tally to 16 league goals, just one shy of Serie A's top scorer Edin Dzeko, who bagged a brace for Roma on Tuesday.
Later on Wednesday, Milan ended a three-match losing streak in sensational fashion as Mario Pasalic tapped home from close range a cross from Gerard Deulofeu.
But victory had seemed improbable after the dismissals of centre-back Gabriel Paletta in the first half and Slovak midfielder Juraj Kucka just before the hour mark.
Centre-back Alessio Romagnoli had also been forced off with injury after half an hour.
Bologna toiled despite the two-man advantage and created few clear chances.
And they were stunned when Spaniard Deulofeu got to the byline and crossed through a defender's legs for the unmarked Pasalic to stroke home from inside the six-yard box.
Milan stay in seventh but are now just two points behind bitter city rivals Inter in the final Europa League qualifying spot.
It was more misery for mid-table Bologna after their 7-1 trouncing at Napoli over the weekend.RESULTS:Bologna 0 AC Milan 1 Pasalic 89Crotone 0 Juventus 2 Mandzukic 60, Higuain 74Standings P W D L F A Pts1 Juventus 23 19 0 4 47 16 572 AS Roma 23 16 2 5 48 21 503 Napoli 23 14 6 3 55 26 484 Lazio 23 13 4 6 41 27 435 Inter Milan 23 13 3 7 37 24 426 Atalanta 23 13 3 7 36 25 427 AC Milan 23 12 4 7 33 27 408 Fiorentina 23 10 7 6 38 33 379 Torino 23 8 8 7 40 33 3210 Sampdoria 23 8 6 9 26 29 30
Thursday, June 04, 2026
