The longest winning streaks in Europe's top five leagues - ranked

Prior to their 2-0 defeat against bitter rivals Manchester United, Manchester City were on one hell of a winning streak, tasting victory in 21 straight games in all competitions.

Winning runs like this one do not come around often, but just how good is City's compared with some of the other teams that have racked up a lengthy conveyor belt of three points in recent times?

To find out, we decided to discover and then rank the longest winning streaks in Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, Premier League and Ligue 1 history. Let's get going...

9. Lyon - 14 wins (2006)

Throughout the 2000s, Lyon were the dominant team in France, winning seven successive Ligue 1 titles from the 2001/02 season onwards.

The zenith of this startling run came during the 2006/07 campaign, when they managed to win 14 matches in a row.

This included a Champions League victory over a Real Madrid team containing the likes of David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roberto Carlos.

8. Bayern Munich - 14 wins (2017-2018)

Buoyed by the returning Jupp Heynckes, Bayern Munich were on a mad one during the 2017/18 season, winning the Bundesliga by 21 points.

Their best run of the campaign came between December and February when they won 14 on the bounce.

Many of these victories were secured with a flourish as well, with Paderborn and Hamburg both being hit for six and Besiktas conceding five.

7. Real Madrid - 15 wins (2011)

Jose Mourinho's best ever season at Real was the 2011/12 campaign.

Not only did Los Blancos wrestle the La Liga trophy away from Barcelona, they also knitted together a 15-match winning streak.

Along the way they battered rivals Atletico 4-1, thrashed Osasuna 7-1 and also picked up a pair of 3-0 wins over Ajax in the Champions League.

6. Bordeaux - 16 wins (2009)

It has been some time since Bordeaux sat at European football's top table, but back in 2009 they played like one of the best teams in the continent.

A dominant run of 16 straight victories at the end of the season was enough to secure them the Ligue 1 title, as well as the Coupe de la Ligue.

This feat is made even more impressive when you consider that they had Marouane Chamakh leading the line.

5. PSG - 16 wins (2015-16)

In one of the most one-sided title races in French football history, Paris Saint-Germain secured the Ligue 1 championship by a ridiculous 31 points during the 2015/16 season.

Their unassailable lead was largely built up between December and February when PSG won 16 games in a row in all competitions.

Beating title rivals Lyon 5-1 in the third game of the run set the tone for their fantastic season.

4. Barcelona - 18 wins (2005-06)

Fuelled by the goalscoring exploits of Samuel Eto'o and the divine intervention of Ronaldinho, Barcelona went on a stunning 18 match winning streak during the 2005/06 campaign.

The run helped them retain the La Liga title in Frank Rijkaard's third season in charge.

Back to back 5-0 wins over Real Sociedad and Panathinaikos were particularly sweet, though not as sweet as defeating Real 3-0 in El Clasico.

3. Manchester City - 21 wins (2020-21)

City's club record win streak of 21 games - much like a Randy Orton RKO - came out of nowhere.

They started the 2020/2021 season poorly, but after falling to a disappointing draw against West Brom in December, Pep Guardiola's charges did not lose again until March.

Along the way Chelsea, Liverpool and United were all dispatched, though the Red Devils would eventually get their revenge, deservedly besting the Cityzens 2-0 in the Manchester Derby to end the streak just shy of a European record.

2. Real Madrid - 22 wins (2014)

Imagine going on a 22 game winning streak and still not winning the title.

That was the cruel fate bestowed on Real during the 2014/15 campaign, with their drop off in form in the final third of the season allowing Barcelona to clinch La Liga by two points.

This was not the only disappointment Real experienced either, as they also crashed out of the Champions League semi finals. Oh well, at least they'll always have 'the streak'.

1. Bayern Munich - 23 wins (2020)

Currently leading the way for the best winning streak in Europe's big five leagues is Bayern Munich.

Few managerial appointments have been more inspired than Die Roten handing Hansi Flick the reins partway through the 2019/20 season. With Bayern struggling, Flick helped turn things around almost immediately.

Their 23 game winning streak included besting PSG in the Champions League final and beating Bayer Leverkusen to win the DFB Pokal.