Luciano Spalletti believes Juventus' win over Atalanta was "worth more than three points", as his side moved into the Serie A top four.

The Bianconeri won 1-0 at New Balance Arena, as Jeremie Boga's second-half strike separated the two teams.

Juve were second-best for much of their encounter against Atalanta, whose own Champions League hopes suffered a severe blow.

The visitors produced just 0.63 xG from seven attempts to the hosts' 1.67 from 22 shots, but got over the line, nonetheless.

Spalletti was delighted with the victory, especially due to Juve's recent struggles with fitness.

"The first half-hour, we suffered a lot, because Atalanta are a good team, and we were unable to string passes together in any situation, as they were constantly pressing us," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"These are games that are worth more than three points. Unfortunately, we weren’t in the best shape coming into the match, because Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao both had fitness problems.

"I chose to start them and see how they’d do. They were both a little below-par, Thuram had an issue, too.

"Atalanta were far more tuned into the tempo of the game early on, more precise in their movements from right to left, and we didn’t find passing channels.

"In the second half, we won the ball back a few times and could've done more damage on the counter-attack, but misplaced the vertical pass.

"Considering the players who were struggling, I am pleased they put the effort in and tried to work for the team."

For the second time under Spalletti, Juventus have gone at least six consecutive Serie A matches unbeaten (W4 D2); the first instance came between December and January (W5 D1).

The Bianconeri have also won four of their last five league games (D1), with all those victories coming with a clean sheet.