With victory over Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night, Manchester City are now 25 games unbeaten in the Champions League, equalling the competition record for the longest unbeaten run in history.
Manchester City’s 4-0 win against Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia took Pep Guardiola’s side to 25 consecutive games unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League, equalling the competition record set by rivals Manchester United back in May 2009.
Not only is this a record in the Champions League era, but it also extends back through the European Cup era too.
Not since the 2021-22 semi-final second leg against Real Madrid have Man City lost a UCL match. That 3-1 defeat in the Bernabéu on 4 May 2022 has been followed by a 25-game unbeaten run in which they have won 17 times and drawn eight.
Longest Unbeaten Runs in European Cup/Champions League History:
25 games – Manchester City (6 Sep 2022 – Ongoing)
25 games – Manchester United (19 Sep 2007 – 5 May 2009)
20 games – Ajax (2 Oct 1985 – 20 Mar 1996)
19 games – Bayern Munich (18 Sep 2019 – 17 Mar 2021)
19 games – Bayern Munich (14 Mar 2001 – 2 Apr 2002)
17 games – Crvena zvezda (7 Sep 1988 – 6 Nov 1991)
16 games – Barcelona (8 Mar 2011 – 3 Apr 2012)
16 games – Manchester United (23 Oct 2001 – 23 Oct 2002)
16 games – Manchester United (4 Mar 1998 – 29 Sep 1999)
15 games – Real Madrid (12 Apr 2016 – 2 May 2017)
15 games – Barcelona (14 Sep 2005 – 27 Sep 2006)
15 games – 1. FC Köln (26 Sep 1962 – 11 April 1979)
Of course, Man City failed to reach the Champions League final last season, after picking up their first UCL title in 2022-23, but their exit in 2023-24 came via two draws in the quarter-finals against Real Madrid before eventually being eliminated in a penalty shootout in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
City equal the 25-game record set by rivals Man Utd between September 2007 and May 2009 under Alex Ferguson.
The Red Devils’ run included them winning the competition in 2008, and then 12 matches in the 2008-09 season that saw them reach the Champions League final in Rome, before Barcelona defeated them 2-0 thanks to goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi to win the title and end United’s run.
The only other team to go 20+ games unbeaten in the European Cup/Champions League were Ajax, who went 20 games without a defeat over a 10-and-a-half-year period between October 1985 and March 1996, with 19 of those matches coming in the UCL era.
This run included 11 matches in 1994-95 when they went on to win the trophy with a victory over Milan in the final, while they didn’t compete in the competition at all in eight seasons in a row between 1986 and 1994.
