Real Madrid inched one step closer to breaking Barcelona’s unbeaten run of 39 games – a Spanish record. Zinedine Zidane’s side recorded a 5-0 thumping over relegation-threatened Granada to make it 39 games unbeaten and a win or a draw against Sevilla on Thursday will see them break Barcelona’s record.
Barcelona had gone on a 39-match unbeaten run between October of 2015 to April of 2016, when they won 32 games and drew only 1 before seeing their record-breaking run being halted by a Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Real Madrid in a 2-1 defeat on 2nd April.
Los Blancos last lost a match against Wolfsburg in April of last year when they suffered a 2-0 away defeat against the Germans in the quarter-final of the Champions League. Zidane's side then overturned the deficit in the second leg at home courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick.
Madrid's recent triumph against Granada puts them on the same pedestal with Barcelona - 39 games unbeaten – an all-time record for Spanish clubs. However, unlike their archrivals, the Santiago Bernabeu outfit have the opportunity to break the record.
| Serial No. | Club | Year | No. of Games |
| 1 | Celtic | 1915-17 | 62 |
| 2 | Al-Ahly | 2004-05 | 55 |
| 3 | Santos/Penarol | 1960-63/1965-68 | 54 |
| 4 | ASEC Mimosas | 1990 | 52 |
| 5 | Dinamo Zagreb | 2014-15 | 45 |
| 6 | Juventus | 2011-12 | 43 |
| 7 | AC Milan | 1992-93 | 42 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 1978 | 40 |
| 9 | Barcelona/Real Madrid* | 2015-16/2016-present | 39 |
| 10 | AC Milan | 1991-92 | 36 |
Isco opened the scoring for the La Liga leaders before Karim Benzema doubled his side’s lead. Los Blancos raced to a 3-goal lead in the 27th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo converted from point-blank range. Madrid then made it 4-0 when Isco scored his second of the night in the 31st minute. With a 4-goal lead in the first half, Madrid went easy on the relegation-threatened side and only added one goal in the second half, when Casemiro headed in James Rodriguez’s free-kick.
Casemiro’s goal was his first of the season and with that he became the 21st different scorer for Real Madrid this season. Not only that, apart from the goalkeepers and Fabio Coentrao – who made his first appearance of the season as a second-half substitute for Marcelo – all the other Madrid players have got on the scoresheet. Truly remarkable!
Before the game, Ronaldo was presented with his 4th Ballon d’Or award in front of a raucous Bernabeu and legends including Luis Figo and Ronaldo Nazario (El Fenomeno) were also present for the ceremony. The Portuguese superstar celebrated the award with his first goal of 2017 – relentless.
