MANCHESTER CITY’S 4-0 triumph over Swansea City on Wednesday means Pep Guardiola now holds the record for the longest all-time winning runs in La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League.
A brace from David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick and an excellent closing goal from Sergio Aguero gave City their 15th consecutive victory in the English top flight, surpassing Arsenal’s previous best of 14 set between February and August 2002.
Nevertheless, it is still only the third longest league streak of Guardiola’s stellar career.
Tottenham are up next for City is a mouth-watering clash at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, where three points would draw the runaway Premier League leaders level with the 16-match run their boss compiled at Barcelona from October 2010 to February 2011.
Typically, Real Madrid matched their great rivals by winning 16 on the bounce last year. Guardiola himself overcame that personal best during his first season in charge at Bayern Munich, with 19 victories between October 2013 and March 2014.
Here we look at how City’s purple patch compares to those Barca and Bayern runs – both of which contributed to the 46-year-old Catalan lifting the league title.
Goals
City have been famously goal-hungry this season but, at present, their goals-per-game return comes in below those posted by the Blaugrana and Die Roten when they were in record-breaking form.
During the 15 games in question, City have scored 49 times or 3.26 per game. This is a shade under Bayern’s 3.36 (64 in 19) and behind Barca’s incredible 3.75 (60 in 16).
Guardiola’s Barcelona only conceded six times in the same period, while City have already let in 10 – equal to Bayern over their longer run.
Individuals v team ethic
More than a third of Barca’s goals during their streak came from an incredibly familiar source, with Lionel Messi pilfering an astounding 21. Pedro and David Villa weighed in with 12 apiece.
Although he would be deemed surplus to requirements at the end of 2013-14, Mario Mandzukic was responsible for 13 of Bayern’s goals. Thomas Muller was up next with 11, while Mario Gotze and Arjen Robben claimed eight each.
Aguero moved on to 10 for the season at Swansea, nine of which have come in the run. No City player is in double figures over the past 15 games – Gabriel Jesus and late-winner specialist Raheem Sterling both have eight – but their goals are shared around to a greater extent. Silva and De Bruyne’s efforts at Swansea mean six players have five goals or more.
Biggest wins
City’s largest winning margin this season came with a 6-0 triumph at Watford, while Stoke City were thumped 7-2 at the Etihad Stadium.
In any case, they still have a little way to go to match the biggest wins by Guardiola’s Barca or Bayern when they were in record mood.
Almeria suffered a 8-0 defeat on November 20, 2010, with Messi helping himself to a hat-trick a week before Real Madrid were famously taken apart 5-0 at Camp Nou.
No team suffered more at the hands of Bayern than Werder Bremen, who were hammered 7-0 on December 7, 2013.
Standout talents
De Bruyne’s form this season has seen him mentioned in the same breath as many of football’s leading names and it is to the Belgium star’s credit that he compares favourably to any of the creative talents in Guardiola’s Bayern and Barca line-ups.
No player during their respective club’s purple patches created more chances than De Bruyne’s 46, with Messi and Muller crafting 35 and 34 respectively. Messi does outstrip the City favourite by 13 assists to eight, the same number of ex-Camp Nou full-back Dani Alves
No Bayern player has more, however, and only Rafinha can match Silva’s seven assists, which come from 28 chances created by the mercurial Spaniard.
When will the run end?
City could only claim a point against Spurs last season meaning the streak could be about to face its toughest test.
Barcelona hit the buffers in a 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon on February 12, 2011, where Villa equalised 10 minutes from time.
If City really want to end the run in style, Bayern are the model to follow. Their 3-3 draw against Hoffenheim on March 29, 2014 came five days after a 3-1 win at Hertha Berlin clinched the Bundesliga title.
In the major European leagues where Guardiola is yet to make his presence felt – Serie A and Ligue 1 – the records are held by Inter (17 games between October 2006 and February 2007) and Bordeaux (14 games between March 2009 and August 2009).
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