By avoiding defeat to Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian capital on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City will equal a UEFA Champions League record that has stood for more than 17 years.
City Close In On Champions League Record
Reigning treble-winners Manchester City will equal the second-longest unbeaten run in UEFA Champions League history if they are able to avoid defeat against Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday night, in a run that spans across 19 matches.
Currently without a defeat in 18 straight matches, including five wins from five in the group thus far this term, Pep Guardiola‘s side will level Bayern Munich and Ajax’s records of having gone 19 games without a loss in the competition.
Bayern have actually gone unbeaten in 19 Champions League matches on two occasions, the first of which came between 2001 and 2002. Like City, the Bavarians’ run came after winning the competition in the 2001/02 season, which they built on by going unbeaten in the group stage the following campaign.
The Bundesliga giants achieved the same feat between 2019 and 2021, when they became the first team to win a European Cup or Champions League with a 100% record in 2019/20 – beating Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
Ajax also hold the record for the second-longest run of matches without defeat in Europe’s premier competition having gone 19 games unbeaten between 1994 and 1996. The Eredivisie side won the title in 1995 and became one of 11 clubs to go all the way without losing a single match.
After coming from behind to overcome Red Star 3-1 at the Etihad back in September, it looks incredibly likely that City will join this band of record holders, however it’ll take something special to reach the heights of the longest unbeaten run in the competition’s history.
That mantle goes to their city rivals, Manchester United, who achieved 25 straight matches without losing between 2007 and 2009. Inspired by the great Sir Alex Ferguson, United’s triumph is comfortably the longest unbeaten run in the competition’s history, in which they lifted the title against Chelsea in 2008.
In order for the Cityzens to match that – they’ll have to go all the way to this season’s final without losing a game, and can then surpass the Red Devils’ record by lifting the trophy for a second consecutive season.
Longest Unbeaten Runs In Champions League History
- Manchester United (2007-09) – 25 matches
- Bayern Munich (2019-21) – 19 matches
- Bayern Munich (2001-02) – 19 matches
- Ajax (1994-96) – 19 matches
- Manchester City (2022-23) – 18 matches
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
