True champion Tevez made the difference, says Buffon

By Stefan Coerts

Feb 23, 2014 9:51:00 PM

The veteran goalkeeper has hailed the Argentine's ability to rise to the big occasion, after the the forward netted the only goal of the Derby della Mole

Gianluigi Buffon has praised Carlos Tevez for his game-deciding contribution to Juventus' 1-0 Serie A win over Torino on Sunday evening.

The Argentina international settled the Derby della Mole in the Italian champions' favour with a fine first-half strike and his skipper was quick to highlight the striker's importance to the Bianconeri after the game.

"Tevez is a great player who helped us to the full three points in a difficult game with his goal," Buffon told Sky Sport Italia.

"These kinds of games are often decided by flashes of brilliance from true champions and we have a number of players like that in our team."

Buffon then went on to hail Torino for their good performance, but dismissed the Granata's claims that they should have been awarded a penalty when Andrea Pirlo appeared to trip Omar El Kaddouri in the area with just 10 minutes to go.

"Torino are going through a good season and this allowed them to start the game with a clear head," the Italy international mused.

"They deserve compliments for their display. It was a good game and a real derby.

"The referee was quite strict and blew his whistle a lot. But I don't think it was a penalty."

Juventus are once again nine points clear of second-placed Roma in the Serie A standings. ------------------- goal.com