Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo curved his shot over the wall and into the corner to put Torino 3-1 ahead in the 61st minute, his first goal in 43 free-kick attempts for just under two seasons with Juventus.

Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his third goal against Torino. (Reuters photo)

HIGHLIGHT

  • Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored on a free kick for Juventus on Sunday
  • Gianluigi Buffon made a record 648th appearance in Serie A when Juventus beat Torino 4-1
  • The victory left Juventus with 75 points in 30 games.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored on a free kick for Juventus and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made a record 648th Series A appearance when the league leaders beat their smaller neighbors Torino 4-1 in the Derby della Mole on Saturday.

Ronaldo curled his shot over the wall and into the corner to put Torino 3-1 ahead in the 61st minute, his first goal in 43 free-kick attempts for just under two seasons with Juventus.

The victory left Juventus with 75 points in 30 games, seven ahead of second-placed Lazio, who was at home with AC Milan later on Saturday. Torino, who failed to beat Juventus in his last 12 attempts, is 15th with 31 points.

Buffon, 42, broke Paolo Maldini’s Serie A appearance record when he was chosen for his first league game this year.

Paulo Dybala put Juventus ahead with a trademark goal when the Argentine skipped two defenses and cut a deflected shot to Salvatore Sirigu in the third minute.

Torino responded well and forced a flurry of corners only to be caught on the counter in the 29th minute when Ronaldo burst forward and slid the ball towards Juan Cuadrado. The Colombian beat his marker and scored with a low shot in the far corner.

The visitors responded for the handball penalty against Matthijs De Ligt after a lengthy VAR review in the first half halting time and Andrea Belotti beat Buffon to score for the fourth consecutive game.

Torino had a goal ruled out for offside after the restart and Simone Verdi tested Buffon with a long-range shot, but Torino’s hopes of a fight ended with Ronaldo’s 25th goal of the season.

Unlucky Torino substitute Koffi Djidji converted a Douglas Costa cross into his own net without pressure to complete Torino’s misery just two minutes after arriving.