Man Metropolis equal Champions League report initially set by Man Utd

Manchester Metropolis’s 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday received Pep Guardiola’s aspect up and working within the Champions League for the season, having been held by Inter on matchday one.

Metropolis have develop into one in all European soccer’s dominant forces in current instances, lifting the Champions League trophy in 2023 as a part of a historic treble for the membership.

However this week’s journey to Slovakia was not solely a maiden victory within the 2024/25 version, it was additionally a milestone twenty fifth recreation unbeaten within the competitors stretching again two seasons.

Just one different workforce within the historical past of the European Cup or Champions League has achieved that. As probability would have it, that was native rivals Manchester United, between 2007 and 2009.

Within the fashionable period, golf equipment play extra video games, so it’s naturally simpler to place collectively lengthy unbeaten runs throughout a shorter time frame. Again when Actual Madrid received 5 European Cups in a row, it solely required seven video games to be topped champions – except a replay or two bumped it up.

However whilst five-time back-to-back winners, potential unbeaten streaks for Madrid had been truncated by occasional defeats in a two-legged tie, corresponding to in opposition to FK Partizan, AC Milan and Fast Vienna in 1956, Vasas in 1958, Atletico Madrid in 1959, and OGC Good in 1960.

A more moderen Champions League ‘three-peat’ throughout the final decade additionally included the odd loss that in the end did not have an effect on their progress or general success within the competitors.

Manchester Metropolis’s final defeat within the Champions League got here in 2022 by the hands of Madrid. Metropolis had been famously moments away from reaching the ultimate till two late targets from Rodrygo evened up the combination rating to power extra-time, earlier than a Karim Benzema penalty sealed a dramatic loss.

However it’s now two Champions League seasons unbeaten and counting. Metropolis went all the best way in 2022/23 with out tasting defeat, whereas they managed to take care of that in 2023/24, regardless of being knocked out by perennial foes Madrid within the quarter-finals. Each legs of the tie led to attracts and Metropolis had been in the end knocked out on penalties, which isn’t thought of a loss.

Metropolis have now reached 25 video games with out defeat at this stage, matching what Sir Alex Ferguson’s third nice Manchester United workforce – the Ronaldo-Rooney-Tevez period – did 15 years in the past.

From a semi-final humbling within the pouring rain at San Siro by Kaka and AC Milan in Could 2007, United went by means of the whole 2007/08 European season unbeaten, culminating in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea within the 2008 remaining that was selected penalties, this time in pouring rain in Moscow.

United returned to the ultimate a 12 months later, going by means of 12 extra video games unbeaten in 2008/09, however then misplaced in opposition to an in the end treble-winning Barcelona aspect in Rome.

Different notable efforts embody Ajax going 20 video games unbeaten between 1985 and 1995, clearly not throughout consecutive seasons. Bayern Munich have twice put collectively 19-game unbeaten runs, nearly twenty years aside, first from 2001 till 2002 after which once more from 2019 till 2021.

For Manchester Metropolis, recreation 26 is in opposition to Sparta Prague on the Etihad Stadium on 23 October. Ought to they keep away from defeat in that one, which appears extremely possible, the unbeaten report can be theirs alone.

Man Utd & Man Metropolis: joint unbeaten Champions League report

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