Celtic join 21st-century unbeatables

Celtic have become the first team since Rangers in 1898/99 to make it through an entire Scottish league season unbeaten, with Kukës in Albania and København in Denmark also both on target for defeat-free domestic league campaigns. UEFA.com salutes the 21st-century unbeatables.

• Celtic are the 29th side to complete a European season unbeaten in the 21st century. They also went through the whole 1897/98 campaign without losing a game, back in the days of two points for a win (P18 W15 D3 L0 F56 A13 Pts33).

• Of the top eight leagues in Europe (according to their UEFA coeffiecients), four have never been won unbeaten since the foundation of UEFA in 1954: those in Spain, France, Russia and the reunited Germany.

• Crvena Zvezda‘s class of 2007/08 (P33 W21 D12 L0 F65 A22 Pts75) are the only team to have survived a European league season unbeaten since the turn of the century and NOT won the title, finishing five points adrift of Belgrade rivals Partizan.

• The 1999/2000 champions of Andorra, Constellació Esportiva (P12 W12 D0 L0 F71 A6 Pts36), are the only side to have won a UEFA-affiliated European premier division without dropping a point in the 21st century. They scored an incredible 71 goals in those matches (an average of 5.92 a game) but their European demise was equally dramatic: they lost 16-0 on aggregate to Spain’s Rayo Vallecano in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup qualifying round.

• The all-time meanest defence among our 21st-century invincibles belonged to Moldova’s 2006/07 championship-winning Sheriff outfit; under Leonid Kuchuk, the Tiraspol club conceded just seven goals in 36 games that campaign – an average of 0.19 per match, or one for every 463 minutes they played that season.

Stars of Arsenal’s indomitable 2003/04 side©Getty Images

Teams who have got through entire 21st-century UEFA-affiliated league seasons* unbeaten
Andorra: Constellació Esportiva (1999/00: P12 W12 D0 L0 F71 A6 Pts36)
Armenia: Pyunik (2003: P28 W23 D5 L0 F87 A11 Pts74)
Bulgaria: CSKA Sofia (2007/08: P30 W24 D6 L0 F53 A11 Pts78)
Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb (2014/15: P36 W26 D10 L0 F85 A21 Pts88)
Cyprus: Apollon Limassol (2005/06: P26 W19 D7 L0 F68 A24 Pts64)
Anorthosis Famagusta (2007/08: P32 W20 D12 L0 F58 A19 Pts72)
Czech Republic: Sparta Praha (2009/10: P30 W16 D14 L0 F42 A14 Pts62)
England: Arsenal (2003/04: P38 W26 D12 L0 F73 A26 Pts90)
Estonia: Flora Tallinn (2003: P28 W24 D4 L0 F105 A21 Pts76)
Gibraltar: **Lincoln (2009/10: P18 W17 D1 L0 F67 A12 Pts52)
**Lincoln (2010/11: P20 W16 D4 L0 F72 A22 Pts52)
**Lincoln (2011/12: P20 W17 D3 L0 F82 A18 Pts54)
Lincoln (2012/13: P15 W13 D2 L0 F68 A13 Pts41)
Lincoln (2013/14: P14 W11 D3 L0 F66 A6 Pts36)
Hungary: Debrecen (2011/12: P30 W22 D8 L0 F64 A18 Pts74)
Iceland: Stjarnan (2014: F22 W15 D7 L0 F42 A21 Pts52)
Italy: Juventus (2011/12: P38 W23 D15 L0 F68 A20 Pts84)
Malta: Valletta (2010/11: P28 W18 D10 L0 F59 A17 Pts42)
Moldova: Sheriff (2006/07: P36 W28 D8 L0 F70 A7 Pts92)
Norway: Rosenborg (2010: P30 W19 D11 L0 F58 A24 Pts68)
Portugal: Porto (2010/11: P30 W27 D3 L0 F73 A16 Pts84)
Porto (2012/13: P30 W24 D6 L0 F70 A14 Pts78)
Scotland: Celtic (2016/17: P38 W34 D4 L0 F106 A25 Pts106)
Serbia: Partizan*** (2004/05: P30 W25 D5 L0 F81 A20 Pts80)
Crvena zvezda (2007/08: P33 W21 D12 L0 F65 A22 Pts75)
Partizan (2009/10: P30 W24 D6 L0 F63 A14 Pts78)
Ukraine: Shakhtar (2001/02: P26 W20 D6 L0 F49 A10 Pts66)
Dynamo Kyiv (2006/07: P30 W22 D8 L0 F67 A23 Pts74)
Dynamo Kyiv (2014/15: P26 W20 D6 L0 F65 A12 Pts66)