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“When Celtic and Aberdeen meet on Saturday, both will have 100% records going into the match, with seven wins from seven. Has there been a later meeting between two teams with perfect records?” tweets Mike Slattery.
Saturday’s game at Celtic Park has a simple sales pitch: The Irresistible Force v The Irresistible Force. There are few precedents for opponents both having a perfect record after seven games apiece, and in fact we couldn’t find any in the men’s game.
The best in the top four English leagues is a combined total of nine wins. On 17 September 2005, José Mourinho’s Chelsea (five wins from five) had a top-of-the-table clash at, and you’ll like this, the Valley. Alan Curbishley’s Charlton had started brilliantly with four wins out of four, but Chelsea were comfortable 2-0 winners and the two teams started to diverge. Chelsea won the league at a canter, Charlton finished 13th.
Nine wins out of nine? Pah, try 29. “Due to weather delays, Arsenal and Everton didn’t meet in the 2008-09 Women’s Premier League until 29 March,” writes David Shannon. It was an apt date given how many they had racked up that season. “At that stage,” continues David, “Arsenal had won all 16 of their games and Everton all 13 of theirs.” Their records, at that time:
Everton pulled off a stunning 3-0 victory, ending Arsenal’s 108-game unbeaten run in the league. It gave them control of the title race but Arsenal had the last word: they won 1-0 at Everton on the final day of the season to move above them on goal difference. Everton were runners-up despite taking 61 of a possible 66 points. And the prospect of being the answer to a niche trivia question 15 years later was of precisely no consolation.
“Last week my team, Bangor FC, defeated Warrenpoint Town 4-0 in the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. The second goal was scored by Sonny Redford, 18, and the fourth by the evergreen Michael Halliday, 45. Has there ever been a bigger or comparable age gap between goalscorers?” asks Andy Martin.
