Cristiano Ronaldo fires in first Juventus free-kick as Serie A leaders trounce Torino in derby

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first free-kick in Italy as Juventus recorded a seventh consecutive league victory to further strengthen their grip at the top of the Serie A with a 4-1 triumph in the Derby della Mole.

Paulo Dybala continued his rich vein of form to give the hosts a third-minute breakthrough with a fine individual goal, similar to his effort in the midweek victory over Genoa. Ronaldo then set up Juan Cuadrado who doubled the Old Lady's advantage with less than half-an-hour on the clock.

With Juventus seemingly cruising, the referee checked with VAR and controversially awarded Torino a penalty deep into stoppage-time in the first-half after Simone Verdi's shot struck De Ligt's thigh and bounced on to his arm. Andrea Belotti converted, beating Gigi Buffon, who was making a record 648th league appearance.

With new-found belief, Torino came firing out of the blocks at the start of the second period and had the ball over the line, only for Belotti to be flagged offside.

But their hopes were extinguished in sublime fashion when Ronaldo floated a lovely free-kick over the wall and past the helpless Salvatore Sirigu for his 25th league goal of the campaign. He becomes the first Juve player to reach that landmark since 1960/61.

Juventus finished with a flurry and an own-goal by substitute Koffi Djidij added the gloss to another impressive result for Maurizio Sarri's men.

The victory sees Juventus open up a seven-point gap on second-placed Lazio, who host AC Milan later on Saturday.

A deadly duo is forming at Juventus: For too long, question marks have hung over Dybala and Ronaldo's ability to forge a successful partnership together at Juventus. The frightening recent form of both players have put paid to that notion, however, with Dybala scoring five in his last five, and Ronaldo with four from five. Sarri has come under fire this season but deserves huge credit for seemingly finding a solution to this quagmire. Now, he must work out a system to play without the former, who will miss Tuesday's match with AC Milan through suspension.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus): Another stunning performance from the veteran. Pace, power, finesse... he may be 35 but Ronaldo continues to dazzle.

Juventus: Buffon 6, Cuadrado 8, De Ligt 6, Bonucci 6, Danilo 7, Bentancur 7, Pjanic 6, Rabiot 6, Bernardeschi 7, Dybala 8, Ronaldo 9.. subs: Matuidi 6, Douglas Costa 7, Higuain N/A.

Torino: Sirigu 7, De Silvestri 5, Izzo 5, Lyanco 6, Bremer 5, Aina 5, Meite 5, Lukic 5, Berenguer 6, Verdi 7, Belotti 6.. subs: Ansaldi N/A, Millico 5, Djidji N/A.

3' - GOAL! Juventus 1-0 Torino (Dybala): Well, that didn't take long! Dybala receives a lovely little pass from Cuadrado, but he has three defenders surrounding him. With a drop of the shoulder, he creates the space for a shot and curls the ball into the bottom corner with that trusty left foot. Another trademark goal. He now has five goals in his last five.

29' - GOAL! Juventus 2-0 Torino (Cuadrado): It's all too easy for Juventus. They double their lead with a fine counter-attacking goal. Ronaldo sprints down the middle, throws in a few step-overs before rolling it unselfishly to Cuadrado. He steps inside and fires it into the bottom corner.

45'+4 - Penalty to Torino! VAR is in the spotlight once again. Verdi's shot hit the thigh of De Ligt and bounces onto his arm. But the referee goes to the on-field monitor and after a couple of minutes, the referee points to the penalty spot! To add insult to injury, De Ligt is also booked and will miss Tuesday's game.

45'+6 - GOAL! Juventus 2-1 Torino (Belotti): Belotti smashes his penalty past Buffon and that will be the last action of the first half. Controversial.

61' - GOAL! Juventus 3-1 Torino (Ronaldo): Oh my, Ronaldo scores from a free-kick! It's his 25th goal of the campaign, and what a memorable one. He floats it over the wall and nestles in the corner of the goal.

87' - GOAL! Juventus 4-1 Torino (Djidji own goal): Djdidji makes an immediate impact - at the wrong end. The defender gets his angles all wrong as he pokes Douglas Costa's cross into his own net.