Before the match Juve coach Marcello Lippi said he feared the absence of striker Alessandro Del Piero, who has a thigh injury, could result in a slip-up like their 1-1 draw with Atalanta last week.
Their nerves were steadied, however, in the seventh minute when the referee awarded them a penalty after Empoli's Brazilian defender Cribari handled the ball in the area. Juve striker David Trezeguet converted from the spot.
The visitors were reduced to defending for long periods of the first half, but in the 24th minute a swift counter-attack forced Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon to stifle the ball in front of striker Tommaso Rocchi.
The win means Juve join the two Milan-based teams at the top of Serie A on 42 points, though both Inter and AC, at home to Reggina and away to Perugia respectively on Sunday, have a game in hand.
French First Division
A brilliant overhead kick by the Ivory Coast's Ibrahima Bakayoko helped Olympique Marseille to a 2-0 win at AC Ajaccio on Saturday as the Mediterranean team moved to the top of the French first division.
Marseille wrapped up the win with a second-half penalty converted by Lamine Sakho and moved onto 48 points, two clear of Monaco, who were held to a goalless draw at Stade Rennes.
Bakayoko's finishing has been criticized after he had scored just six goals this season. But his seventh, in the 35th minute of a one-sided game, was a masterpiece.
Defender Johnny Ecker crossed for captain Frank Leboeuf, who deflected the ball into Ajaccio's box with a little nod of the head. A cunning bicycle kick from Bakayoko sent the ball into the far corner of Stephane Trevisan's net.
"It was a nice goal. It's always great for a striker to score goals like this," he said.
Marseille could not have dreamt of a more perfect script as rivals Monaco, who had won their last three, failed to score at Rennes, though they stretched their unbeaten run to 11 games.
Nice stayed in contention at the top of the standings after moving up to third with a brave 2-2 draw against Sochaux despite having key defender Jose Cobos sent off just before the break.
Spanish First Division
Zinedine Zidane, making his 50th league appearance for Real Madrid, netted his team's third goal Saturday in a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over Real Betis in the 21st round of the Spanish league.
Star players Raul Gonzalez, Luis Figo and Ronaldo also scored to give the European champion its first win in four league games after Betis midfielder Fernando Fernandez scored to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Madrid, in second place, trails league leader Real Sociedad by one. Sociedad hosted Espanyol yesterday.
At the top of the table, Sociedad has 43 points, with Madrid on 42. Valencia is next with 38 points, while Deportivo de La Coruna is fourth with 35 and Betis stays fifth with 33, three ahead of Celta de Vigo.
Madrid's victory extended its undefeated league run to 15 matches. It has not been beaten at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the league since November 2000.
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