The 13 unbeaten sides in Europe's big five leagues

Arsenal famously became the first and only English side since Preston in 1889-90 to register an ‘invincible’ full top-flight campaign. It’s never been done in Spain, France or Germany, while in Italy only AC Milan (1991-92) and Juventus (2011-12) have managed it.

Could it happen again in the 2022-23 season? Here are the 13 sides in Europe’s big five leagues that are still unbeaten.

In the post-war period, only three sides in Europe’s five big leagues have managed to go a whole season unbeaten.

Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal famously became the first and only English side since Preston North End in 1889-90 to register an ‘invincible’ full top-flight campaign.

It’s never been done in Spain, France or Germany, while in Italy only Fabio Capello’s AC Milan (1991-92) and Antonio Conte’s Juventus (2011-12) have managed it.

Could it happen again in the 2022-23 season? Here are the 13 sides in Europe’s big five leagues that are still unbeaten.

Man City

The Premier League champions have dropped four points in surprise draws against Newcastle and Aston Villa but have otherwise looked imperious.

They stuck six unanswered goals past Nottingham Forest and four past Bournemouth and showed they never know when they’re beaten by coming back from two goals behind to beat Crystal Palace 4-2.

Pep Guardiola’s men will have bigger tests to come and are yet to face a fellow ‘big six’ side but with the form of Erling Haaland, you’d brave to back anyone else against them.

Tottenham

Antonio Conte’s Spurs came from behind to beat Southampton 4-1 on the opening weekend and showed real grit the following week to equalise twice - including a last-minute Harry Kane header - the following week in a 2-2 draw against London rivals Chelsea.

Like City, Tottenham have dropped four points so far. Set up in Conte’s favoured 3-4-3 system, they look a tough nut to crack in 2022-23.

Napoli

Nobody that saw Napoli’s performance in their 4-1 Champions League victory over Liverpool will be surprised to hear they’re going great guns domestically, too.

The club lost key men Kalidou Koulibaly, Fabian Ruiz, Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne but don’t appear to be missing any of them just yet. They’re unbeaten in six games so far, taking 14 points from 18 on offer against Verona, Monza, Fiorentina, Lecce, Lazio and Spezia.

Atalanta

Gian Piero Gasperini’s all-action side suffered something of a drop-off as they finished an underwhelming eighth last term. But they’re back to punching above their weight once again.

They’re only behind Serie A table-toppers Napoli on goal difference and held Italian champions AC Milan to a 1-1 draw last month.

AC Milan

The Scudetto holders are level on points with Napoli and Atalanta after six games.

They’ve been held to draws away at Atalanta and Sassuolo but have beaten Udinese, Bologna, Sampdoria and city rivals Inter.

Juventus

Max Allegri is under pressure following the Old Lady’s unconvincing start to the 2022-23 campaign.

Juventus have drawn four of their six league outings so far this season but remain unbeaten in Serie A, having kept that record intact through Leonardo Bonucci’s injury-time equaliser in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at home to relative minnows Salernitana.

Real Madrid

The European champions are the only side in Europe’s big leagues to boast a 100% winning record so far this season.

Los Blancos have only kept one clean sheet in six La Liga outings to date, but with the likes of Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema on point, they’re continually outscoring the opposition.

Barcelona

Xavi’s new-look side kicked off their 2022-23 campaign with an underwhelming goalless draw at home to Rayo Vallecano but they’ve remained on Madrid’s coattails by winning five in a row since then.

They’ve only conceded one goal so far and have registered wins away at Sevilla and Real Sociedad, which have traditionally been tough places to go. PSG The Parisiens’ all-star front three of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have been in scintillating form so far this season.

Europe’s top-scoring side have only dropped two points to date, in a 1-1 draw at home to Monaco.

Marseille

Given the gap in resources, Marseille have done remarkably well to stay level on points with PSG seven games into the Ligue 1 season.

Igor Tudor’s men have beaten Reims, Nantes, Nice, Clermont, Auxerre and Lille and only faltered in a 1-1 draw away to Brest.

Lens

Racing Club de Lens punched above their weight to finish 7th in Ligue 1 last term but they don’t appear to be slowing down.

They currently sit third in the French top flight after five wins and two draws from their opening seven outings.

Union Berlin

The surprise Bundesliga table-toppers have been one of European football’s most compelling stories so far this season.

Union’s rise has been irresistible. They’re at the summit of the German top flight for the first time in their history and currently sit two points clear of perennial champions Bayern Munich after winning four and drawing two of their first six league outings.

Bayern Munich

The German champions won their first three matches in emphatic fashion, putting six past Eintracht Frankfurt and seven past Bochum.

But since then they’ve stuttered to three successive draws and arguably lack cutting edge following the departure of their star striker Robert Lewandowski.