Ranking 5 greatest teams to have won all their Champions League group stage games
It is hard enough to win one game in the UEFA Champions League; ask Anderlecht, who have an abysmal record in the competition. But some teams have done it six times this season already.
In the UEFA Champions League, a lot is at stake right from the group stage playoffs up until the final game of every season.
A new Champions League record was set in the 2021-22 season
For the first time ever, three clubs won ALL of their group stage matches in one season. They joined an exclusive group of clubs to have achieved this feat. Only 10 teams have managed to win every match in the group stage of a season, and three came in only one season.
Here's a list ranking the five greatest sides to win all of their group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League in a single season:
#5 AC Milan 1992-93
Fabio Capello's 1992-93 Rossoneri side contained Dutch great Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Jean-Pierre Papin and many others. AC Milan emerged as Serie A Champions in the 1992-93 season. They, however, couldn't be the winners in the UEFA Champions League that season.
The Rossoneri won all of their matches in a group that had FC Porto, IFK Goteburg and PSV Eindhoven. Van Basten scored four goals in that group stage. All four of those goals came in the first game against IFK Goteburg before his season was cut short by injury. A defense marshaled by Alessandro Costacurta, Baresi and Maldini conceded only one goal throughout the group stage.
1 goal conceded in a #UCL group stage:
๐ฎ๐น Milan 92/93
๐ณ๐ฑ Ajax 95/96
๐ฎ๐น Juve 96/97
๐ฎ๐น Juve 04/05
๐ช๐ธ Villarreal 05/06
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Liverpool 05/06
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Chelsea 05/06
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Man Utd 10/11
๐ซ๐ท Monaco 14/15
๐ซ๐ท PSG 15/16
๐ช๐ธ Barรงa 17/18
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Man City 20/21
Chelsea miss the chance to join the list again.
They went on to lose 1-0 to Olympique Marseille in the Champions League final in Munich, denying them a glorious end to the season.
#4 Ajax 2021-22
Since Ajax appointed Erik Ten Hag as manager in 2017, the club has achieved great levels of success. They delivered the ultimate underdog performance and reached the semifinals of the Champions League in 2018-19. They were however beaten by Tottenham Hotspur on away goals by 3-3 by the last kick of the game by Lucas Moura.
But Ajax have reached a new level this season.
For the first time in the club's history, Ajax have won all of their group stage games in a Champions League season. From a group that had Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon and Besiktas, Ajax emerged with 18 points.
Liverpool ๐ค Ajax
Finishing the Champions League group stage with a perfect record. https://t.co/bPjDxf7u2J
Ivorian striker Sebastian Haller scored in all of the group stage matches, reaching 10 goals in six matches. Haller became the first man ever to score in each of his first six appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
Sรฉbastien Haller is the first player in Champions League history to score in each of his first six appearances in the competition.
Record breaker. #UCL https://t.co/dNAtaYo5N7
He also became only the second man after Cristiano Ronaldo to score in every match in the group stage. Ajax have conceded only five goals throughout the group phase of the Champions League this season.