Real Madrid set to break Spanish record with 40-game unbeaten run
Tuesday 21 April 2020 10:59, UK
Real Madrid will set a new Spanish record of 40 games unbeaten if they avoid defeat against Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey on Thursday.
Los Blancos matched Barcelona's 39-match unbeaten record from last season with a 5-0 victory over struggling Grenada in La Liga on Saturday.
The Catalans won 32 games and drew seven across all competitions between October 2015 and March 2016, en-route to winning the league and Copa del Rey.
Real ended Barca's streak with a 2-1 El Clasico victory last April, losing their following fixture 2-0 to Wolfsburg before starting their own unbeaten run to date.
Madrid's current run has spanned two seasons and is slightly less impressive with 30 wins and nine draws, scoring 112 goals compared to Barca's 122, and conceding 36 to the Catalans' 23.
Live La Liga Football
Real are currently top of the league with one game in hand, four points clear of upcoming Copa del Rey opponents Sevilla, who they will face again in La Liga on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm, and five points ahead of Barca.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who won FIFA's inaugural The Best award on Monday, has been instrumental during Real's unbeaten run with 26 goals, followed by Karim Benzema on 14 and Gareth Bale with 11.
Barca's MSN strike-force were more prolific during their streak last season, with Luis Suarez scoring 37, Lionel Messi netting 31 and Neymar also chipping in with 23 goals.
Madrid and Barcelona have already surpassed record undefeated runs in Germany and France, held by Werder Bremen (27) in 2003/04 and Paris Saint-Germain (37 games) in 1993/94, respectively.
If Real win or draw their round of 16 second-leg tie on Thursday, having won 3-0 in the first leg, they will equal England's 40-game record set by Nottingham Forest in 1978.
However, Real must reach 42 games without defeat to equal AC Milan's record from 1992/93 and make it 43 to draw level with Juventus' unbeaten run in 2011/12.
