Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen break European record for consecutive unbeaten games
Bayer Leverkusen remain unbeaten in all competitions in 2023/24, the Bundesliga champions now a European record-breaking 49 games without loss.
When Leverkusen ran out 2-1 winners over Mainz on Bundesliga Matchday 23 to make it 33 games unbeaten, the Bundesliga champions surpassed Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich team of 2020 and 2021 in the record books for the longest run without defeat by a German side in all competitions. Another remarkable fact is that Die Werkself achieved the feat inside a single campaign.
Watch: Highlights of Leverkusen's record-breaking Mainz win
Alonso's side reached the 40-game mark with their DFB Cup semi-final triumph against Fortuna Düsseldorf, before equalling the Bundesliga record for longest unbeaten start to a league campaign with victory away to Union Berlin on Matchday 28.
They then set a new best mark in Germany's top flight on Matchday 29 with a 5-0 thumping of Werder Bremen that also saw the club crowned champions for the first time in their history.
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen - champions at last!
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That result also took Leverkusen level with Juventus for the longest undefeated streak by a team in one of Europe's top five leagues at 43 matches (across 2011 and 2012). The Werkself subsequently rewrote the record books with an unprecedented 44th game unbeaten as they drew 1-1 away at West Ham United to book a place in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
Leverkusen's streak was seconds from being ended in Dortmund on Matchday 30, when Josip Stanišić equalised in the seventh minute of added time to make it 45 competitive matches without loss.
Watch: Leverkusen salvage Dortmund draw to stay unbeaten
Incredibly, Leverkusen left it to the very last kick of the ball to salvage the hot streak the following week, as a Robert Andrich finish in the 97th minute of a thrilling 2-2 draw against VfB Stuttgart put the champions just three matches away from becoming the first ever team to complete an entire Bundesliga season unbeaten.
Fresh from a 2-0 win in Rome that put one foot in the door of the Europa League final, Bayer moved to within two games of history thanks to victory at Eintracht Frankfurt, whilst matching Benfica's 48-game European record that had stood for 59 years.
They went one better in the second leg against Roma, recovering from 2-0 down on the night to claim the record outright. Stanišić was again the hero, equalising in the 97th minute.
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 VfB Stuttgart - highlights
Unsurprinsingly, Bayer are the only team across Europe’s top five leagues per UEFA coefficient yet to taste defeat in 2023/24. They've won a remarkable 40 out of those 49 fixtures, being held to a draw on only nine occasions and failing to score just once (0-0 vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 19).
In addition to two more matches in a potentially unbeaten Bundesliga campaign, there will be two more cup games. The Europa League final against Atalanta in Dublin on 22 May, followed by the DFB Cup final against Kaiserslautern three days later, will take Leverkusen to 53 competitive fixtures in 2023/24.
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