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It is hard enough to win one game in the UEFA Champions League; ask Anderlecht, who have an abysmal record in the competition. But some teams have done it six times this season already.
In the UEFA Champions League, a lot is at stake right from the group stage playoffs up until the final game of every season.
A new Champions League record was set in the 2021-22 season
For the first time ever, three clubs won ALL of their group stage matches in one season. They joined an exclusive group of clubs to have achieved this feat. Only 10 teams have managed to win every match in the group stage of a season, and three came in only one season.
Here's a list ranking the five greatest sides to win all of their group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League in a single season:
#5 AC Milan 1992-93
Fabio Capello's 1992-93 Rossoneri side contained Dutch great Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Jean-Pierre Papin and many others. AC Milan emerged as Serie A Champions in the 1992-93 season. They, however, couldn't be the winners in the UEFA Champions League that season.
The Rossoneri won all of their matches in a group that had FC Porto, IFK Goteburg and PSV Eindhoven. Van Basten scored four goals in that group stage. All four of those goals came in the first game against IFK Goteburg before his season was cut short by injury. A defense marshaled by Alessandro Costacurta, Baresi and Maldini conceded only one goal throughout the group stage.
They went on to lose 1-0 to Olympique Marseille in the Champions League final in Munich, denying them a glorious end to the season.
#4 Ajax 2021-22
Since Ajax appointed Erik Ten Hag as manager in 2017, the club has achieved great levels of success. They delivered the ultimate underdog performance and reached the semifinals of the Champions League in 2018-19. They were however beaten by Tottenham Hotspur on away goals by 3-3 by the last kick of the game by Lucas Moura.
But Ajax have reached a new level this season.
For the first time in the club's history, Ajax have won all of their group stage games in a Champions League season. From a group that had Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon and Besiktas, Ajax emerged with 18 points.
Ivorian striker Sebastian Haller scored in all of the group stage matches, reaching 10 goals in six matches. Haller became the first man ever to score in each of his first six appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
He also became only the second man after Cristiano Ronaldo to score in every match in the group stage. Ajax have conceded only five goals throughout the group phase of the Champions League this season.
#3 Real Madrid 2014-15
Fresh from picking up La Decima at the end of the 2013-14 season, Real Madrid returned to the hunt for UEFA Champions League glory. Los Blancos emerged with a maximum i.e. 18 points from a group that had Liverpool, Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad and FC Basel.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals in the group stage for Real Madrid, who conceded only two goals in the group stage and scored 16. The defending champions eventually lost to Juventus in the semifinals, ending their bid for an 11th Champions League crown.
They then went on to win three consecutive Champions League titles from next season onwards.
By winning all of their group games, Carlo Ancelotti's side emulated Jose Mourinho's Los Blancos side of the 2011-12 season. Mourinho's Real Madrid also won all of their group stage matches in 2011 before losing to Bayern Munich in the semifinals.
#2 Bayern Munich 2019-20
2019-20 was a season that will go down in history for a plethora of reasons. In it, Bayern Munich joined an elite group of teams to have won all their group matches. Niko Kovac and Hansi Flick managed the side through their six group games as they strolled through with a swagger indicative of what was to come.
Bayern Munich had Tottenham Hotspur, Red Star Belgrade and Olympiacos in their group. They picked up an especially memorable 7-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They went all the way to win the trophy by defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the final, with a Kingsley Coman goal.
Bayern Munich picked up a treble at the end of the season, winning the Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal.
This season under Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern have repeated their group stage feat by picking up 18 points once more. They had FC Barcelona, Benfica and Dynamo Kiev in their group and went on to win it by a huge margin.
#1 Liverpool 2021-22
Liverpool became the first English side to win all of their group matches in the UEFA Champions League. They sealed the deal against AC Milan 2-1 on the final day. The Reds claimed the maximum 18 points in a group that was touted as the "Group of Death" at the beginning of the season.
Liverpool made light work of Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and AC Milan to claim maximum points from their group. Jurgen Klopp's men scored 17 times and conceded just six times in their entire group stage run against three of the best sides in Europe.
Mohamed Salah scored seven of Liverpool's goals in the competition this season, making him their top scorer.
