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Jurgen Klopp's rampant Liverpool have gone from strength to strength in the ongoing English Premier League campaign and are refusing to drop points in what has been a dominant performance in the top-flight so far.
There have been a lot of impressive sides in the history of the English top-flight and this Liverpool side is vying to cement its place among the best. They are on the track of breaking a host of long-held Premier League records by the end of this term and at the same time are also tipped to lift their first league title in 30 years.
One of such astounding records they find themselves chasing is that of the longest unbeaten streak in the Premier League. This particular record was most recently broken 16 years ago by none other than The Invincibles, who went undefeated in league matches for 49 games, a streak that spanned over three seasons.
So, with The Reds currently on a 44-games unbeaten run, they are bound to have their eyes set on the record, but do you where they stand in the all-time rankings?
If not, fret not, as we take a look at the 10 longest unbeaten streaks in the Premier League history and also take a look at how they came to an end.
#10 (Joint Ninth) Nottingham Forest (1995) - 25 matches
Nottingham Forest is one of the oldest clubs in England and also one of the six clubs from the British Isles to have won the erstwhile European Cup or Champions League. Though their current status in the second tier seems a bit underwhelming, there was a time when they were getting the better of some of the top sides of the division.
The 1977-78 champions enjoyed their best unbeaten run of the Premier League era in the fledgeling days of the league in the calendar year of 1995. Interestingly, they had only regained promotion into the top tier in 1994-95 campaign and finished third in the league that term, which is till date, the highest placing finish a promoted club has achieved.
In February of 1995, with only a quarter of the 1994-95 season remaining, the Tricky Trees got their unbeaten streak underway and managed to stay undefeated against some of the best sides in the league for a total of 25 games, in which striker Stan Collymore's goals played a huge role.
Their spectacular run came to an end in a similarly spectacular fashion, at the hands of reigning champions Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, who humbled Nottingham 7-0 on 18 November 1996 in posting the biggest win of the 1996-97 season.
#9 (Joint Ninth) Manchester United (2016-17) - 25 matches
Manchester United enjoyed one of their best seasons of the post-Ferguson era during the 2016-17 campaign under Jose Mourinho. They managed to win a treble that season, well, not The Treble, but three different trophies, including one at the continental level.
They finished sixth in the league standings that term and thus it would be hard to fathom the fact that they enjoyed one of the longest unbeaten runs in the history of the competition. Interestingly, they only conceded five defeats that season, only second-placed Tottenham Hotspur lost fewer games.
A 4-0 loss at Chelsea proved to be the impetus for their 25-game unbeaten streak, which was, to put it mildly, dull. Though going 25 games undefeated is no small achievement, it should be noted here that they played some uninspiring football in that period and half of these 25 games ended in a draw.
A defeat against a London side set them on course for this unbeaten streak and it took another London side to bring their run to an end when Arsenal inflicted a 2-0 loss over them at the Emirates on 7 May 2017.
After not tasting defeat in 25 games, they lost two in a row, with their second defeat in as many games coming against Tottenham Hotspur in the game that ended 2-1 at the White Hart Lane, before it was shut down for renovation during the 2017-18 campaign.
Also read: Bruno Fernandes a big boost, but Man Utd need one or two more pieces – Solskjaer
#8 (Joint sixth) Manchester United (2010-11) - 29 matches
Manchester United are the most successful club in the history of the English Premier League, so it is only natural that they feature heavily in our list. In their second entry in this list, we take a look at their 2010-11 campaign, which was the second occasion when the Red Devils had gone 29 matches unbeaten in the top-flight.
That season United got off to a flying start and managed to retain their unbeaten status in league fixtures well until the final quarter of the campaign had kicked in. Including five games from the previous campaign, their run stretched to a total of 29 games without a loss.
The defeat that stopped them from becoming just the fifth team ever in the Premier League to remain undefeated for 30 consecutive games came against an unlikely opposition in Wolverhampton Wanderers on 5 February 2011. Bottom-placed Wolves produced a comeback in the first half of the game to win it 2-1 and squash the hopes of Sir Alex Ferguson to usurp the record of his 1999 treble winners.
#7 (Joint sixth) Chelsea (2007-08) - 29 matches
Chelsea is another club that features in our list on more than one occasion. The Blues emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the English top-flight since the turn of the century and have bagged multiple honours since.
The 2007-08 season was set to be one of the most successful campaigns in their history, they were one of the favourites for the league title right until the very last day, they were the finalists in UEFA Champions League and the league cup as well. Alas, it was just not their time and despite all their efforts finished the season without a trophy the first time in four years.
They eventually came second to United in the league and also lost the Champions League final to them in Moscow. They were yet again defeated by United on penalties in the Community Shield and were beaten in the final of the League Cup by London rivals Spurs.
Nonetheless, they finished 2007-08 league campaign on a high, managing to avoid defeat in any of their last 21 games of the season and continued their form into the 2008-09 season under Luis Felipe Scolari as well to make it 29 games without a loss in the top flight.
It was Liverpool who brought Chelsea's remarkable unbeaten run of 29 games to a close at Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 win on 26 October 2008.
#6 (Joint sixth) Manchester United (1998-99) - 29 matches
Manchester United secured a place for themselves in the history books in 1999 after they won the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League all in one season, to become the first and as of 2020, the only English team to complete the continental treble.
They became household names after their remarkable achievement, which was masterminded by Sir Alex Ferguson and executed brilliantly by The Class of 92. Though it is only natural to be awed by such incredible feats, we should not let them distract us from the fact that in the same period they went undefeated in the league for 29 games straight.
It all began after a series of disappointing results just before the winter break, in which they had drawn three games back to back, followed by a 2-3 defeat at home to Middlesborough. Since that shock defeat, they did not lose a single game and went on the lift their fifth Premier League title.
The 1999-2000 season also began on a similar note for the Red Devils, in which they managed to extend their undefeated streak to a total of 29 games.
Their unbeaten record came to a sudden end on 3 October 1999, when Chelsea produced a sensational performance at the Stamford Bridge to crush the reigning champions 5-0. Despite their run coming to an end, they managed to retain their title later that season.
#5 (Joint fourth) Manchester City (2017-18) - 30 matches
Manchester City came to dominate the Premier League in the previous decade, winning their maiden league title in the 2011-12 season and bagging three more in eight years since. But it is under Pep Guardiola that they have turned into a force of nature.
The team reached its peak in the 2017-18 season and set several Premier League records that term, including most points (100), most away points (50), most wins (32), most away wins (16), most goals (106), best goal difference (+79) and most consecutive victories (18).
Well, with such a plethora of records to look at, it is easy to overlook one of their lesser-known achievements in the same period. They remained unbeaten in the top-flight for 30 games, emerging victorious in no less than 26 of them. They were looking unbeatable at times and many backed them to go undefeated throughout the season.
After dropping just eight points until the new year, Liverpool put a break on their juggernaut, in a highly entertaining fixture that ended 4-3 on 14 January 2018 at Anfield.
#4 (Joint fourth) Arsenal (2001-02) - 30 matches
Since taking over at Arsenal in the mid of 1996-97 season, Arsene Wenger had turned the Gunners into serious title contenders. It is a shame that they had to contend with a second-place finish on numerous occasions to the equally impressive Manchester Untied in that period.
In 2001-02 season, they pipped their arch-rivals to the league title by seven points, winning just their second league title in the Premier League era. Their success came on the back of a 20-game winning streak which was inspired by a 3-1 drubbing by Newcastle United at Highbury earlier that season. They continued their brilliant run of form into the following season as well and proved unbeatable for their opponents in the first nine games of that campaign.
Finally, it took a 16-year-old Wayne Rooney to bring their run to a halt, as he scored his first Premier League goal in the 90th minute of the game that ended 2-1 at the Goodison park to seal the win for the Toffees and deliver a blow to the reigning champions, who were later defeated at home by Blackburn Rovers in their following fixture.
#3 Chelsea (2004-05) - 40 matches
Jose Mourinho announced himself to the Premier League in a stunning fashion with Chelsea. In his debut season as the manager of the Blues, he led them to their first Premier League title in 2004-05 season, while also breaking the stranglehold of Arsenal and Manchester United over the prize.
Chelsea kicked off the season on a positive note, going undefeated for eight games straight, but a defeat at Manchester City early in the season reset their streak. Following this defeat, they got back to winning ways and went on a 29-game unbeaten run in the top-flight that term and eventually won the league with three games to spare.
In the 2005-06 season, yet again they got off to a flying start, winning nine games on the trot, which is a record in itself, to stretch their undefeated streak to 40 games before it was brought to an end at the Old Trafford by United on 6 November 2005 in a close 1-0 win.
#2 Liverpool (2019-present) - 44 matches
Following an extraordinary performance at the UEFA Champions League last season, it was expected that Liverpool would kick off the current Premier League season with a bang, but nobody could've predicted just how strong this squad would turn out to be.
As of now, Liverpool's undefeated streak stands at 44 games and of the 27 games played this season, they've only dropped points once at Manchester United.
If not for their only loss in the 2018-19 campaign to eventual champions Manchester City, they would've long surpassed The Incredibles' tally of 49 games and would be on a 66-game unbeaten streak.
Their current run got underway on 12 January 2019 and it's been more than a year now that they have gone unbeaten in the league and what is even more impressive is that they haven't tasted defeat at Anfield since April 2017.
It is said that all good things must come to an end and naturally, this incredible streak will also come to an end, but one can only hope that the Reds manage to become the first team in history to remain undefeated for 50 games by then.
Also See: 4 things Liverpool need to do to be considered the greatest Premier League team ever
#1 Arsenal (2003-04) - 49 matches
For generations, the fans of Preston North End could take pride in the fact that the Lilywhites had been the only club in the history of English football to go undefeated for an entire season. The club, which now competes in the Championship, achieved the remarkable feat in the very first season of the erstwhile football league in the 1888-89 campaign.
It was after 115 long years that another club was able to match their achievement. The Invincibles' squad of Arsenal from the 2003-04 season that counted Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Viera, Ashley Cole and Fredrick Ljungberg in its ranks, went an entire season without losing a league game.
Including their two games from the 2002-03 season and nine games from the 2004-05 season, they had not lost a Premier League fixture for in 49 outings, falling just one short of a half-century. Their incredible run stretched from 7 May 2003 – 24 October 2004, a year and a half of total dominance over the league.
Their famous streak met its end in a rather infamous way. In a match held at the Old Trafford famously known as the Battle of the Buffet, two goals in a controversial second half of the game were enough to bring an end to one of the greatest footballing phenomena of the recent memory.
Also See: 5 Outstanding players who left Arsenal on a free transfer
