N ot everyone was cheering Gigi Buffon as he closed in on a remarkable record . The Juventus captain had not conceded a goal in 926 minutes of league football heading into Sunday’s Turin derby. Just four more would be enough to make this the longest such sequence of any goalkeeper in Serie?A history.

Few opponents, though, could have been more eager to rain on his parade than Torino. Juventus’s rivalry with their city neighbours has not always been especially fierce ? it is indicative that Claudio Marchisio’s father, Stefano, used to buy season tickets for both teams when his son was a boy ? but in recent years tensions have risen.

Only last month we had a preliminary court hearing for a Juventus fan who stands accused of lobbing a paper bomb into a Torino section at the Stadio Olimpico during the previous meeting at the venue, in April 2015. That match, just like Sunday’s, was preceded by ugly scenes outside, with rocks and bottles thrown against the windows of the Bianconeri ’s team bus.

No club would condone such behaviour and any rivalry between the players themselves is of a strictly sporting nature ? but Torino as a team did want to deny Buffon this record. That much could be seen in the very first seconds of the game, as Ciro Immobile sprinted at full pelt after Leonardo Bonucci in a successful bid to pressure the defender into a bad pass.

Moments later, Giuseppe Vives barged Mario Mandzukic violently off the ball in midfield before attempting to launch an immediate counter. For those first, frantic few minutes, every Torino touch seemed designed to take their team up the pitch as swiftly as possible.

It was not enough. The hosts, for all their efforts, never managed an attempt on goal in those opening four minutes, Immobile falling and losing possession on the one occasion his team threatened to penetrate the penalty box. Juventus’s supporters roared with satisfaction as Buffon reached his milestone.

Meanwhile, in a Mediaset TV studio, Sebastiano Rossi crossed his legs, blinked and then blinked some more . It was his record that had fallen and the disappointment was writ large across his face. The former Milan goalkeeper did praise Buffon and called him a worthy successor but it was plain that he took no pleasure in having his name written out of the history books.

Perhaps, deep down, he might feel that his achievement was more worthy. It was accomplished in 1993-94, at a time when Serie?A was the envy of Europe. Such gifted forwards as Beppe Signori, Roberto Baggio, Gianfranco Zola and Ruud Gullit dominated that season’s scoring charts.

This point was raised during Mediaset’s post-game analysis. Ciro Ferrara, alongside Rossi in the studio, was jokingly asked why he had never helped Buffon to break the record back when they were together at Juventus from the mid-1990s into the 2000s. “Some of the attackers were a lot harder to mark back then,” came his curt reply.

Some of his peers might beg to differ. On Sky, Giuseppe Bergomi argued that “being a defender today is far more difficult than in my day” because there are “so many more variables”. Referees, for one thing, used to be an awful lot more lenient with defenders.

Besides which, Rossi was protected by one of the all-time great back fours ? with Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta at centre-back, accompanied by Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti on either side. That entire group was called up to Italy’s World Cup squad at the end of the season. Rossi himself was left at home.

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Not that Buffon has exactly been short-changed when it comes to defensive team-mates. Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini ? Juve’s very own BBC ? might one day be remembered in similar terms. They have lost only four times in 63 league matches when they start together as a trio.

That was not the case on Sunday. Chiellini remains sidelined by a calf injury, leaving Daniele Rugani to fill in. Signed from Empoli in the summer, the 21-year-old looks increasingly assured in such company and put in a solid performance here. There was nothing he could have done to prevent Torino from finally ending Buffon’s resistance at the start of the second half.

It was Rugani’s team-mate, Alex Sandro, who dived recklessly into a challenge on Bruno Peres, bringing the Torino player down from behind. Andrea Belotti swept the ensuing spot-kick into the bottom corner. For the first time in 974 minutes, Buffon had been beaten. Or perhaps it was only 973 minutes, depending on whose stopwatch you were checking.

All that really mattered was that Rossi’s record had been broken. Well, that and the fact Juventus had won. After the agony of a last-gasp reversal away against Bayern Munich in midweek, Buffon had been quick to stress the importance of keeping focus on the home stretch of a delicately poised title race.

A 4-1 final scoreline made Juve’s victory look emphatic. In reality, this game might easily have gone another way. Sandro, already on a yellow card, was fortunate to avoid a second booking for that challenge on Peres. And Torino, who had been 2-0 down before Belotti’s penalty, could have pulled level 10 minutes later ? Maxi Lopez’s equaliser was ruled out by a dubious offside decision.

You could excuse Juventus for lacking sympathy after Alvaro Morata had an even more obviously valid goal chalked off against Bayern in midweek. It should also be said that the Bianconeri were scintillating at times. Paul Pogba’s free-kick to open the scoring was superb , and his assist for Morata on the third goal even better. The day, though, belonged to Buffon ? even if he was quick to share the credit with his team-mates. After the game , he posted a message on Facebook praising each one of them individually (I’ll translate in the talking points below). He was deferential when talking to Rossi as well.

“I was luckier than you because my team-mates made sure that I faced very few shots on goal,” Buffon insisted. “You had to earn it more, with superlative saves.”

It is true that the Juventus keeper has not needed to make many eye-catching interventions on the way to this record. He made a total of 33 saves over the 10-and-three-quarter games he went without conceding. Some of those have been good ? a close-range parry from Eder during the win against Inter springs to mind ? but none especially spectacular.

So perhaps Rossi should not begrudge Buffon this record as much as he should begrudge the Juventus manager who has allowed the keeper to enjoy such success at 38 years old. That manager is a man whose identity provides this story with a neat sense of symmetry. When Rossi’s own run came to an end back in 1994, Gazzetta dello Sport asked him which of his saves had been the best. His reply? “The one I made from [Massimiliano] Allegri.”

Talking points

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Buffon is not the only player to have hit unprecedented heights in this campaign. Gonzalo Higuain helped to keep Napoli within three points of Juventus at the top, grabbing his 29th goal in 30 league games to break a second-half deadlock at home against Genoa. He needs six from his remaining eight fixtures to equal Gunnar Nordahl’s record for most in a 20-team Serie?A season. In the meantime, he’ll just have to content himself with the love of his club’s supporters and the knowledge that he has helped the Partenopei to amass more points (67) and more wins (20) than they have ever had at this stage of a top-flight campaign .

Defeat left Genoa in 12th but still only six points clear of the relegation zone. However, it was not all bad news for them on Sunday. Raul Albiol gave them the gift of free sponsored pasta in the changing room afterwards.

On the day that Buffon broke Rossi’s record, Milan’s 17-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma gave us another glimpse of why many people are already tipping him to one day take over as Italy’s No1. His positioning could have been better on this save from Felipe Anderson but the reflexes and agility to push the ball around the post are still breathtaking.

Roma’s run of eight consecutive Serie?A wins under Luciano Spalletti was ended by Inter ? who might consider themselves unfortunate to only have drawn at the end of their most spirited and disciplined league performance in months. The Giallorossi had a lot of the ball but few ideas of how to break down a tightly packed defence and their eventual equalising goal ? after Ivan Perisic had opened the scoring ? owed more to luck than design. Edin Dzeko’s shot was mis?hit so badly that instead of heading towards goal it screwed sideways across the Inter penalty area and Radja Nainggolan was extremely sharp in reacting to jab the ball home.

Don’t look now but Carpi are out of the relegation zone ? even if only by virtue of a tiebreaker ahead of Palermo. Carpi have the bit between their teeth after beating Frosinone and Verona over the past two weeks (as well as drawing their three games before that). Kevin Lasagna’s winner, furthermore, might be one of the best-struck free-kicks you’ll see all season .

And finally, as promised, a translated version of Buffon’s thank you to all his Juventus team-mates:

“No record belongs to just one person and there are no No1s outside of a group. So I want to say thank you to …
… Neto for the calmness that he gives to the whole team every time it goes out on to the pitch … Rubinho, a patient and quiet leader … Chiello, because #finoallafine [Juventus’s staple social media hashtag, meaning ‘until the end’] he never relents … Alex Sandro because watching him beat his man is always a pleasure … Barzagli: who needs to be cloned, immediately … Bonucci, for his head-held-high personality, always at the service of the team … Rugani, because knowing how to listen is a rare quality … Stephan, legs and lungs of this Juve … Evra, if he was not here, we’d need to buy him … Khedira: the right man, always in the right place … Marchisio, the only player I know who is coloured black and white … Pogba, because he does not live football, but invents it … Hernanes, because every team needs to have its Prophet … Lemina, simply Juve-worthy … Padoin, wherever you put him he will be, and be very well … Asamoah, his desire for football is stronger than any injury … Sturaro, “fight, fall, get back up and always win” … Pereyra, because fantasy is the salt of this sport …. Zaza, born to score from any position … Morata, there is always a need for him … Cuadrado, because every time that he sets off he seems to say “catch me if you can” … Mandzukic, the first to attack and always the first to defend … Dybala, if after Thuram, Zidane and Pirlo, the No21 shirt went to him, then there must be a reason … And to the boss, a winner in pantheon of winners!”

Results: Atalanta 2-0 Bologna, Empoli 0-0 Palermo, Frosinone 0-0 Fiorentina, Milan 1-1 Lazio, Napoli 3-1 Genoa, Roma 1-1 Inter, Sampdoria 0-1 Chievo, Sassuolo 1-1 Udinese, Torino 1-4 Juventus, Verona 1-2 Carpi