Longest Unbeaten Runs In Champions League History

It’s one thing stringing together a run of undefeated games in a domestic league. Anyone can do that and most big clubs at some point have but the Champions League is a whole other kettle of fish.

It’s quite another challenge to repeatedly knock out continental heavyweights, with victories and draws often bleeding into a subsequent season.

Here are the 10 longest unbeaten streaks in Champions League history.

Barcelona 2005-06 – 15 matches

Barcelona remained unbeaten across the 2005-06 edition of the competition, conceding just five goals from group stage to final.

It was up front though where their greatest strengths lay, with Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o terrorising defenders via a combination of ingenuity and lethal finishing.

The Brazilian converted seven times as the Catalan club engineered a path to the final before overcoming Arsenal in Paris.

Pre-Pep and not overly blessed with star power, this isn’t the Barca team with the greatest legacy, but its success shouldn’t be forgotten.

Real Madrid 2016-17 – 15 matches

After being forced to witness Barcelona dominate the Champions League around the turn of the decade, Real Madrid owned the competition from 2013 through to 2018. Included in that streak was a 15-match undefeated run for Los Blancos.

Real won four Champions League crowns in five years across this period, with Cristiano Ronaldo firing a multitude of goals. Truly, they were the kings of Europe.

Manchester United 1998-99 – 16 matches

Before the dramatic last-gasp comeback against Bayern in the final, and before Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer secured legendary status at Old Trafford for the rest of their days, United had a Group of Death to deal with, a real doozy too.

Brondby were easily navigated twice-over but in addition to the Danes, Bayern and Barcelona stood in their way and to emerge from that group undefeated is a real testament to the Red Devils’ nous in Europe, as much as their quality.

Then came that famous, unforgettable night in Catalonia, with all of its accompanying folklore, which made a 1-0 loss in Marseille a few months later something of an anti-climax.

Manchester United 2001-02 – 16 matches

Oddly, this run came in the middle of a frustrating period for the Reds in Europe, exiting on away goals to Bayer Leverkusen – after two drawn games – then twelve months later succumbing to Real Madrid’s Galacticos.

Yet, while continental football routinely ended in disappointment, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men continued to dominate domestically, winning the league in 2001 and 2003.

It’s fair to assume their Premier League odds were vastly different back then to the present day.

Barcelona 2011-12 – 16 matches

Arguably the greatest club side ever conceived, Barca were at their peak around this period, with Lionel Messi conjuring up weekly masterclasses ahead of a midfield trio who have gone down in legend. Pep Guardiola’s side were a relentless winning machine.

On route to deconstructing Manchester United in the 2012 final, Blaugrana downed arch-rivals Real Madrid in the semis, showcasing their brilliance amidst the smoke flares and high tension.

The following year it was more of the same, that was until they encountered a resolute Chelsea who countered to devastating effect at Camp Nou.

Bayern Munich 2001-02 – 19 matches

Winners of the competition in 2000-01, Bayern built on that success by going unbeaten in both group stages in 2001-02.

They even beat Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-final but succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in the second match to end their imperious streak.

The less said about the following year the better, the Bavarians imploding and taking just two points from six group stage contests.
Ajax 1994-96 – 19 matches

Champions of Europe in 1995, Ajax are one of 10 clubs to go all the way without suffering defeat.

It was a run that continued long beyond lifting the trophy, with de Godenzonen not losing a match in the competition until the first leg of the 1995-96 semi-final.

A joy to watch with big names galore, this Ajax team didn’t stay together as long as many in Amsterdam would have hoped, but the key players went on to enjoy hugely successful careers far and wide.

Bayern Munich 2019-21 – 19 matches

To back against Bayern in the football betting in 2019/20 would have been brave or foolish.

Die Roten claimed their 29th Bundesliga title at a canter and furthermore lifted the DFB-Pokal, comfortably seeing off Bayer Leverkusen in the final.

It was against the great and the good of Europe however where they really flexed their might, boasting a 100% winning record from their opener to the final.

Becoming the first team to win every one of their Champions League commitments, the German giants put seven past Spurs and four past Chelsea before trouncing Barcelona 8-2, a result that shook the continent to its core.

They made a run for it a year later too but eventually came unstuck against PSG in the last eight.

Manchester United 2007-09 – 25 matches

After bettering the likes of Roma, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter and Arsenal – not to mention all manner of group stage minnows – United’s proud 25-game streak ended in Rome on May 27th, in their second consecutive final.

A year before, arguably the best of all of Sir Alex Ferguson’s creations edged past Barcelona in a two-legged semi but on this particular night Lionel Messi was in his element, so too Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.

There are worst teams to end a prolonged run that stretched to 20 months, all told. And that’s putting it mildly.

Manchester City 2022-24 – 26 matches

After finally getting their Champions League monkey off their back in 2022/23, beating Inter Milan in the final, City endeavoured to defend their title, doing so in some style.

From their opening fixture at home to Red Star Belgrade to a quarter-final second-leg, the Blues scored three goals in each game, a highly impressive quirk.

Only then Real Madrid came to town and ultimately prevailed on penalties.

Some claim that exiting the competition constitutes a loss. Yet the result officially stands as a draw, thus extending City’s run.

A five-goal pummelling of Sparta Prague in October 2024 made it 26 games undefeated for Pep Guardiola’s men, taking them past their bitter rivals United. Soon after, a heavy loss in Lisbon put a full stop to their record-breaking.