Real Madrid and Man City behind Bayern Munich - longest Champions League winning runs

Manchester City made history on Wednesday night as they became the first English team to win ten consecutive games in the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s men brushed aside Copenhagen with a dominant 3-1 win in an ominous sign to European football’s elite clubs. 

In customary fashion, City appear to be clicking into gear at the business end of the season and they are strong favourites to retain their Champions League crown. The Citizens won their maiden Champions League title last season after defeating Inter Milan in a hard-fought final in Istanbul courtesy of Rodri’s winner. Guardiola’s side have won all eight games since the final and they could eclipse Bayern Munich’s record winning streak since the competition - previously the European Cup - became the Champions League in 1992. 

Top 10 longest winning runs in Champions League history 

Bayern Munich’s 15-match winning streak between September 2019 and November 2020 is comfortably the longest since the inception of the Champions League in 1992. The German giants embarked on an incredible winning streak which included lifting the trophy in 2020 after beating PSG in the final, under the tutelage of Hansi Flick. Their run eventually came to an end after a 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid. 

As illustrated on the graphic above, Bayern also have the joint-second longest winning run in the competition of ten games with AC Milan, Real Madrid and the current Man City side. Bayern won the competition in 2013 under Jupp Heynckes but he was replaced in the summer by Guardiola, who extended their winning run to November. Milan went on their run during the first campaign of the competition, while Madrid’s ten-match winning run under Carlo Ancelotti included their tenth Champions League title. Barcelona have enjoyed two nine-match winning runs in the competition, while Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich embarked on eight game winning streaks. Seven teams have won seven consecutive games in the Champions League, including Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp between September 2021 and February 2022.