On Sunday, Juventus beat city rivals Torino 4-1 in the derby to record their 19th win in their last 20 outings in Serie A.
Since going down to Sassuolo in October, the only other side that denied Juve the three points in the Italian league were Bologna.
Juventus continue to hold a three-point lead at the top of the standings with only eight games to go till the end of the season.
Victory apart, the Derby della Mole was particularly special for Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon who beat a 22-year-old Serie A record for not conceding a goal.
Buffon entered Sunday’s showdown just three minutes short of the previous record established by Sebastiano Rossi. The Milan keeper had kept a clean sheet for 929 consecutive minutes from December 12, 1993 to February 27, 1994.
Juventus dominated the derby from the word go as Torino’s blunt attack seldom threatened to interrupt Buffon’s impressive streak.
Eventually, it was only a penalty converted by Andrea Belotti three minutes after the restart that interrupted Buffon’s unbeaten run at 974 minutes.
Buffon praised his team-mates at the end of Sunday’s match.
“The lion’s share of the credit should go to the guys in front of me, right from our forwards who work so hard, all the way back to our defence,” he said.
“I started thinking seriously that this record was possible after we beat Atalanta even though some people in the media were already making references after four or five clean sheets in succession.
The lion’s share of the credit should go to the guys in front of me
“Really, I never imagined that I would have a personal record like this in my career.”
In season 1993/94, Rossi was considered by many as an average goalkeeper. However, he happened to be protected by an impregnable rearguard that comprised outstanding defenders like Paolo Maldini, Mauro Tassotti, Alessandro Costacurta, Christian Panucci and Franco Baresi.
Juventus, too, have some exceptional defenders at the moment – the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.
But it is equally true that Buffon happens to be one of the best keepers of all time and if there is someone who deserved to own this record it is him.
The 38-year-old made his Serie A debut when still a teenager, coming on for Luca Bucci in Parma-Milan (0-0) on November 19, 1995. During his stint with Parma, Buffon won the 1998/99 UEFA Cup, which, ironically, still represents his only triumph in a European club competitions.
In the 2001/02 close season, Buffon joined Juventus for a world record fee of €52m.
The transfer still represents the highest ever paid by a club for a goalkeeper.
Buffon remained loyal to the Bianconeri even when the Turin giants were relegated to the Serie B in the wake of the match-fixing scandal that rocked Italian football in 2006.
With the ‘Old Lady’ Buffon is on course to secure his seventh scudetto this season. He also boasts five Italian Super cup medals (2002, 2003, 2012, 2013 and 2015), adding to the one he won when playing for Parma in 1999.
Buffon also lifted the 1998/99 Coppa Italia with Parma and only last season, helped Juventus complete their first domestic double since season 1994/95.
He was also instrumental in Italy’s World Cup triumph in 2006.
During the tournament, Buffon kept five clean sheets and set a World Cup record by conceding only two goals in seven matches.
The only goals Buffon conceded en route to helping Italy lift their fourth World Cup were an own goal by team-mate Christian Zaccardo (vs United States) and a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the final won by Italy after a shoot-out against France.
Buffon was voted as the best goalkeeper at the 2006 World Cup and given the Yashin Award. He was also selected in the Team of the Tournament and finished second with 124 points to Fabio Cannavaro (173 points) in the 2006 Golden Ball award.
Buffon was an integral part in Cesare Prandelli’s Italy team that finished runners-up to mighty Spain in Euro 2012.
The Champions League still represents a let-down for Buffon as victory in the premier club competition still eludes him.
The closest he came was in 2003 and last year, when Juventus finished runners-up to Milan and Barcelona, respectively.