What happened next? The longest unbeaten starts to a Premier League career

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This weekend, Aymeric Laporte could become only the 10th player to go unbeaten in his first 20 Premier League appearances.

But who are the other nine? And how did their unbeaten runs – ranging from 20 games to 47 – come to an end?

Inevitably there are some Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ on the list, as well a contingent from Manchester City’s centurions.

So without further ado, here’s how those unbeaten runs were put to an end.

10. Aymeric Laporte

Club: Man City
Matches before first PL defeat : 19 and counting (W17 D2)
Lost to: TBC

If Manchester City win or draw against Southampton at the Etihad on Sunday, Laporte will hit 20 games unbeaten since joining the champions back in January, which is indicative of his fine form.

9. Bernardo Silva

Club: Man City
Matches before first PL defeat: 20 (W18 D2)
Lost to: Liverpool, 14/01/18

Silva was a key part of the Man City team that went unbeaten for more than half of last season before a 4-3 defeat at Anfield in January, one of only two losses on the way to the title. The former Monaco midfielder was on the scoresheet in the defeat, but Liverpool’s front three were too hot to handle.

8. Ederson

Club: Man City
Matches before first PL defeat: 22 (W20 D2)
Lost to: Liverpool, 14/01/18

Ederson was caught off his line for Mohamed Salah’s goal in the January defeat against Liverpool that ended City’s unbeaten start to the season. It hardly mattered in the end as Pep Guardiola’s side collected 100 points.

7. Jose Antonio Reyes

Club: Arsenal
Matches before first PL defeat: 22 (W16 D6)
Lost to: Man United, 24/10/04

Reyes arrived at Arsenal midway through the ‘Invincibles’ season, in which he scored two goals. The Spaniard helped the Gunners stretch their unbeaten run to 49 matches at the beginning of 2004/05, but Manchester United prevented them hitting 50 in October with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.

6. Roy Carroll

Club: Man United
Matches before first PL defeat: 22 (W16 D6)
Lost to: Portsmouth, 17/04/04

Just a week before Man United ended Arsenal’s incredible unbeaten run, Red Devils goalkeeper Carroll saw an unbeaten stretch of his own killed by Portsmouth, conceding a David Unsworth penalty and a deflected Yakubu strike.

5. Gael Clichy

Club: Arsenal
Matches before first PL defeat: 29 (W21 D8)
Lost to: West Brom, 15/10/05

Clichy went unbeaten in each of his first two Premier League campaigns, in which he made 25 appearances. But four outings into his 2005/06 season, the Frenchman was part of the Arsenal side that lost 2-1 at West Brom, thanks in part to a goal by former Gunners striker Kanu.

4. Gabriel Jesus

Club: Man City
Matches before first PL defeat: 32 (W27 D5)
Lost to: Man United, 07/04/18

Having joined Man City in January 2017, Jesus wasn’t on the losing side in a Premier League match until over a year later. The striker came off the bench after Man United had completed their shock 3-2 comeback at the Etihad in April.

3. Didier Drogba

Club: Chelsea
Matches before first PL defeat: 37 (W31 D6)
Lost to: Man United, 06/11/05

Drogba enjoyed plenty of joy against Man United over the years, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s side ended the Ivorian’s 37-game run without defeat in November 2005. Chelsea themselves had gone 40 games unbeaten before Darren Fletcher grabbed the winner at Old Trafford.

2. Arjen Robben

Mourinho v Guardiola

Club: Chelsea
Matches before first PL defeat: 37 (W33 D4)
Lost to: Middlesbrough, 11/02/06

Nine months after Drogba tasted defeat in the Premier League for the first time, Robben was served up the same dish but in slightly more unexpected circumstances. Fabio Rochemback, Stewart Downing and Yakubu all scored in a shock 3-0 win for Middlesbrough at the Riverside.

1. Jens Lehmann

Club: Arsenal
Matches before first PL defeat: 47 (W34 D13)
Lost to: Man United, 24/10/04

Lehmann played every match between the sticks in Arsenal’s unbeaten 2003/04 campaign and will always be fondly remembered among the ‘Invincibles’.

Unfortunately, the German could do little about Man United ending the Gunners’ historic run.

The post What happened next? The longest unbeaten starts to a Premier League career appeared first on Squawka News.



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