Longest winning streaks in the top 5 European Leagues

There have been some truly amazing winning streaks in the history of football. While there have been many teams who have gone unbeaten throughout the season, a winning streak exceeding more than even 10 matches is very rare in a season.Juventus this season came the closest to breaking the Serie A record for the most number of wins in a row, until they drew against Bologna on Friday bringing their 15 match winning streak to an end.The longest winning streak belongs to AC Sparta Prague who won an astonishing 51 league games in a row in the Czecoslovak First League during the years 1920-1923.We take a look at the longest winning streaks across the top five European LeaguesNote: We are not considering cup matches in the winning streaks of these teams.

#1 Premier League - Arsenal(14) 2001/02-2002/03

Henry and Pires terrorised Premier League defences in the 2001/02 season

Arsenal in the early 2000s was one of the best teams in the world. Having players of the calibre of Henry, Bergkamp and Pires, the Gunners went on a stunning run where they won the last 13 matches to seal the Premier League title in 2001/02 season.

They later started off the 2002/03 season with a win which extended their winning streak to 14 matches. Their streak was brought to an end when they drew 2-2 against West Ham in the second league game of the season.

Arsene Wenger’s men played some amazing and beautiful football on their way to the Premier League title in 2001/02. Thierry Henry was in superb form as they won match after match to leave their closest rivals, Liverpool a comfortable seven points behind on the Premier League table.

#2 La Liga - Barcelona(16) 2010/11

Guardiola’s men played almost perfect football throughout the 2010/11 season

Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona were in stunning form in the 2010/11 season winning both the La Liga and the Champions League that season. This team defined an era and had players of the stature of Xavi, Puyol, Messi and Iniesta.

This season included plenty of highlights for the all conquering Barcelona side as they beat Real Madrid 5-0. Barcelona mastered the ‘tiki-taka’ style of play and they merged it with total football to play some of the most attractive football ever seen.

On 29 January, Barça defeated Hércules 0–3 to match the record for most consecutive league wins in a La Liga season, at 15. The record was previously set by Real Madrid during the 1960-61 season. Barcelona broke the record for most consecutive league wins with 16 victories after they defeated Atlético Madrid 3–0 at the Camp Nou with their star Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick.

Barcelona claimed the title with 96 points in the league beating Real Madrid by 4 points and they were largely helped by their astonishing 16 match winning streak.

#3 Serie A - Inter Milan(17) 2006/07

Inter Milan won the Seria A title by a huge margin of 25 points

Roberto Mancini was the manager of Inter Milan as they won the Serie A title at a canter finishing an astounding 25 points ahead of second place Roma. The team was full of stars such as Luis Figo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adriano, Zanetti and Cambiasso as Inter showcased their class that season winning 16 matches continuously in the Serie A.

The Italian giants were absolutely dominant as they won 30 of the 38 matches they played, drawing 7 and losing only 1 match in the entire season. During this season, Inter broke the previous record which was held by Roma for eleven consecutive wins.

Juventus came very close this season to breaking Inter’s record with 15 consecutive wins in the Serie A but a 0-0 draw against Bologna prevented them from doing so.

This record of 17 league wins consecutively by Inter MIlan looks set to remain for a long time to come.

#4 Bundesliga - Bayern Munich(19) 2013/14

Pep Guardiola proved to be an immediate success at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich have dominated Bundesliga for a long time and they are the most successful team in German football. Following their impressive treble in the 2012/13 season under Jupp Heynckes, Bayern went and got themselves arguably the best manager in the world – Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola proved to be an instant hit in the Bundesliga side as his Bayern Munich side went on a stunning 19 match winning streak blowing away any opposition which stood in their path.

Bayern Munich to be fair have dominated Bundesliga in the last few seasons, but they managed this astonishing feat of 19 victories only in this season. Their winning streak helped them to win the Bundesliga title by a long margin finishing ahead of second-placed Dortmund by 19 points.

Inspite of all their successes in the Bundesliga, Pep Guardiola’s tenure will be judged on his Champions League performances with this season being his last with the Bavarian giants.

#5 Ligue 1 - Bordeaux(14) 2008/09-2009/10

Bordeaux won their last 11 matches to secure a remarkable Ligue 1 triumph in the 2008/09 season

Before Laurent Blanc was winning titles with PSG, he had a very successful stint as a manager with Bordeaux. Eventhough PSG have dominated the Ligue 1 in recent times, the record for most consecutive victories is held by Bordeaux who have won 14 matches.

The French team won their last 11 matches in the 2008/09 season to win a thrilling Ligue 1 title. They also followed it up with three more victories at the start of the next season to take their streak upto 14.

Gourcuff, Goufraan and Chamakh were the architects of this miraculous run for Bordeaux as they broke Lyon’s run of seven consecutive Ligue 1 triumphs to win the title by just 3 points.

PSG have come close on many occasions to breaking this record and the current scenario of Ligue 1 makes it very probable that Bordeaux’s record will be broken soon.