Gianluigi Buffon set a new Serie A appearances record on Saturday as Juventus beat Torino 4-1 in the Turin derby to move seven points clear at the top of the table after nearest challengers Lazio lost to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired AC Milan, reports AFP.
The 42-year-old goalkeeper passed the previous record of 647 appearances he jointly held with AC Milan great Paolo Maldini as he started the game at the Allianz Stadium.
"Maybe... He definitely won't beat the record for scoring goals, though," coach Maurizio Sarri told Sky Sport Italia when asked if Buffon could still play the 35 games he needs to equal Alessandro Del Piero's overall record total of Juventus appearances.
Cristiano Ronaldo was among the scorers, becoming the first Juve player to score 25 Serie A goals in a season in 59 years, as Sarri's men moved further clear of second-placed Lazio, who were beaten 3-0 by Milan at the Stadio Olimpico.
It was the first time the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had scored a free-kick in Serie A and it was his 25th league goal of the campaign.
"I really needed that free-kick goal so I could get some confidence back," Ronaldo said after scoring his first direct free-kick at the 43rd attempt for Juve.
"We were a bit chaotic at the start of the second half, but when fatigue set in, that's when our quality emerged," said Sarri.
Buffon, who spent last season at French club Paris Saint-Germain before rejoining Juve this term, signed a one-year contract extension earlier this week.
The record comes 25 years after Buffon made his Serie A debut for Parma and 19 years after he first signed for Juventus.
