On the surface, there was nothing particularly remarkable about West Ham United's 2-1 win over Freiburg at the start of the Europa League group stage. However, hiding beneath the surface was something quite remarkable.
David Moyes' side stretched their unbeaten run in Europe to 17 games with victory in Germany, a streak that dates all the way back to August 2022 for last season's Europa Conference League champions.
It's a truly astonishing achievement for the Hammers after a significant period outside of European competition, stealing the record off some incredible teams with sensational pedigree on the continent.
Here are the longest unbeaten runs from English sides in Europe.
Manchester City - 16 games (6 September 2022 - 4 October 2023)
Manchester City also made history in midweek with their 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig, setting a club record for 16 games in European competition without tasting defeat. Pep Guardiola's side last lost in Europe against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final in May 2022, going unbeaten on their way to the trophy last season.
Those 16 games began with a convincing 4-0 victory over Sevilla in the opening group stage match of last season's Champions League. Despite playing the likes of Inter, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, Pep Guardiola's men couldn't be stopped.
Of course, City could beat West Ham's run in the next few weeks. If the Irons were to lose to Olympiacos in their next European match, and City were to beat Swiss outfit Young Boys home and away in their next two matches, the treble-winners would steal the record with 18 games unbeaten on the trot.
Tottenham Hotspur - 16 games (13 December 1967- 8 November 1972)
Man City matched a record also held by Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs' 16-game unbeaten European run spanning five years and two competitions. Bill Nicholson's side began their impressive streak against Lyon by beating the French side 4-3 in 1967. Yet, the ultimate exponents of "pass and run" football still exited the European Cup Winners' Cup on away goals after defeat in the first leg.
The run eventually came to an end after Olympiacos beat Spurs 1-0 in the UEFA Cup during the 1972/73 season. However, Tottenham had won the trophy the year before.
The Lilywhites had beaten AC Milan in the semi-final before conquering Wolverhampton Wanderers in the showpiece to lift only their second-ever European trophy in 1971/72, having spent several seasons outside of Europe previously.
Leeds United - 16 games (6 September 1967 - November 27 1968)
Don Revie's Leeds were the first team to reach 16 games unbeaten in Europe, doing so during two seasons in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup from 1967 to 1968. The streak began in the final of the competition in the 1966/67 season, a game they drew 0-0 with Dinamo Zagreb. However, the Croatian side had won the first leg 2-0 and claimed the cup.
The run eventually ended at the hands of Italian side Napoli in the second round of the competition two seasons later. Leeds won the Elland Road encounter 2-0, but lost by the same scoreline in Naples. In the end, the Whites qualified for the third round after a coin toss. Yes, really.
Within that run, Leeds did win the Fairs Cup in 1967/68, beating Hungarian side Fernencvaros 1-0 on aggregate across two legs - their only European trophy to this day.
West Ham - 17 games (18 August 2022 - 5 October 2023)
West Ham won their first European silverware since 1965 last season when they beat Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final, with their joy on the continent not letting up this campaign either.
A run that began with a victory over Viborg in the Conference League play-off round in August of last year reached 17 matches against Freiburg, and Moyes will be aiming to extend that impressive record when they face Olympiacos in late October.
READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE
This article was originally published on 90min as The longest unbeaten runs in Europe by English teams.
