A Pep Guardiola side is often described as the best in Champions League history. Another has the statistical distinction as the hardest to beat. For many, the 2011 Barcelona team reached a level unequalled before or since. Manchester City’s class of 2024, however, stand alone in another respect.
In going 26 European Cup or Champions League games undefeated – even with the sizeable and significant caveat they did lose a penalty shootout in that time – they accomplished something no one else ever had. In a microcosm of much in Manchester football, they stripped the record from their neighbours: Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United had set the previous best of 25.
