Arecord-breaking run leaves Real Madrid consolidating its position at the top of LaLiga, and Los Blancos are now also the only team across the league yet to have lost a game. Eibar beat Villarreal 2-1 on Sunday to hand the Yellow Submarine their first loss of the year, and Sevilla dropped points as Zinedine Zidane's side strengthened their league position. Real have now gone on a 26-game unbeaten run in all competitions, with the squad achieving 20 victories and just six draws in the process. Their last loss coming on April 6 against Wolfsburg, Zidane's men look to beat the 34-match streak achieved under coach Leo Beenhakker in 1988/89. Just a little bit above that mark is Luis Enrique's Barcelona, who went an incredible 39 matches without defeat. With the derby against Atletico Madrid and the Clasico coming up in recent weeks, the record won't be an easy one, but the truth is that Zidane's numbers since taking over the club speak for themselves.Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have begun the season without defeat in their opening seven games, Los Blancos even compiling a 16 match winning streak after finishing last year well, and such a run's impact on the trophy cabinet is profound.
Over the years, what's clear is not so much that avoiding defeat guarantees success, to a degree, as that much is obvious, but more the importance they have for Spain's top clubs to stifle their rivals. Real have tasted success many times when collecting impressive streaks; Leo Beenhakker went 34 games without defeat in 1988/89 on his way to a domestic treble, with Carlo Ancelotti claiming two crowns in 2014/15 via a 22-game run and Zinedine Zidane's double trophy haul over the summer months. For Barcelona, the product of these runs are even more noticeable. A whole 39 games were strung together without defeat by Luis Enrique last season to lift LaLiga, the Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. Frank Rijkaard put together a similar 18 game streak in 2005/06 on the way to winning LaLiga and the Supercopa de Espana, before Pep Guardiola's unprecedented 16 straight wins earned five titles in 2010/11.
Even Atletico Madrid revel in unbeaten streaks, with Diego Simeone going 23 games without losing as they lifted the league title in 2014. The picture changes significantly when the lesser clubs combine a significant run of games, as if they are unable to bounce back from sudden defeats. Deportivo La Coruna chained nine home wins in a row together in 1993/94, a divisional record, and fell short of the title. Similarly, Real Sociedad were left empty-handed despite 38 unbeaten matches across 1978 to 1980. Also part of this infamous category are Valencia and Athletic Club, unable to win LaLiga after 21 and 15 games without a loss, respectively, in the last century, whilst Sevilla's club record 12 games unbeaten in 2008/09 could only deliver them third place.
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