Last week, Jeremie Frimpong’s 89th-minute equalizer rescued Bayer Leverkusen from what was going to be their first defeat of the season. West Ham was leading 1-0 in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal match and it looked like they would end Bayer Leverkusen’s 43-game unbeaten run until manager Xabi Alonso brought on Jeremie Frimpong in the second half. The right-back rescued their undefeated streak from the jaws of death when he curled a ball between two West Ham defenders into the back of the net at the death to ensure Leverkusen ended up with a draw and extended their unbeaten run of games to 44.
While Leverkusen’s unbeaten record across all competitions is already the longest in Europe’s top five leagues, how does the club’s streak in the Bundesliga compare to previous records of other clubs? Let’s take a look at the top five unbeaten league runs in Europe’s top five leagues.
5. Liverpool — 44 games
Liverpool’s 44-game unbeaten streak started in January 2019 and ended in February 2020 lasting exactly one year, one month, and 27 days. After a loss to Man City in 2019, Liverpool started an unbeaten run in the premier league which ended when they fell to Watford in February 2020.
The run included a record-breaking start to a campaign in Europe’s top five leagues after the Reds recorded 26 wins and one draw from the first 27 matches. Within the same timeframe, the Reds also lifted their first Premier League trophy in 30 years with seven games to spare.
3. Juventus – 49 games
Juventus went undefeated in 49 Serie A games between 2011 and 2012. They won the 2011/2012 Scudetto unbeaten winning 23 games and drawing 15. The streak came to an end in November 2012 when the Biaconeri lost 3-1 at home to Inter Milan.
3. Arsenal – 49 games
Probably the most famous streak on this list, Arsene Wenger’s invincibles won the Premier League without tasting defeat in the 2003/2004 season. They’re still the only team in the Premier League to have lifted a Golden Premier League trophy but they are the second English team to go an entire league season without losing a match.
The unbeaten streak which stretched from May 2003 to October 2004 extended beyond one season. It was finally ended in 2004 by none other than Manchester United.
2. Bayern Munich – 53 games.
Bayern Munich’s longest unbeaten run in the Bundesliga spanned almost two years between 2012 and 2014. It was overseen by two managers as it started when Jupp Heynckes was in charge and Pep Guardiola came in and continued the streak.
Poetically, the streak ended in April 2014 after a 1-0 loss to Augsburg; a perennially mid-table side. Pep was resting his starting 11 in preparation for a Champions League quarterfinal game against Manchester United and thus fielded a weaker team that handed him his first defeat in the Bundesliga.
1. AC Milan — 58 games
It may be hard to fathom right now but there was a time when the Serie A was the best league in the world. They had the best players, played beautiful football, and won the biggest trophies. The AC Milan of the 90s is arguably one of the best sides in the history of the game and they dominated the Serie A in the early 90s.
Their streak stretched from 1991 to 1993 as the Rossoneri went the entire 91/92 season unbeaten and only lost twice in the next season to Juventus and Parma.
While Alonso’s Leverkusen is quite impressive, they’re still a long way from touching the records set by other clubs in their respective leagues.Their 44-game unbeaten streak across all competitions is currently the longest in Europe’s top five leagues but their 29-game undefeated streak in the Bundesliga is still quite far from Pep’s 53 game undefeated run in the same league. Can they finish the season unbeaten? And if they do, can they continue next season with the same momentum?