MILAN (Italy): Italy’s legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon set a new Serie A appearances record as Juventus beat Torino 4-1 to move seven points clear at the top of the table.
The 42-year-old 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 host in-form AC Milan later on Saturday.
“We were a bit chaotic at the start of the second half, but when fatigue set in, that’s when our quality emerged,” added 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.
It was the eighth Serie A appearance this campaign for Buffon, with Polish international Wojciech Szczesny usually the defending champions’ number one.
The record comes 25 years after Buffon made his Serie A debut for Parma and 19 years after he first signed for Juventus.
