Olympiacos make longest winning start this century

"Our aim is to win always and we won't stop trying," says Olympiacos coach Marco Silva. "It's our duty to remain motivated." Ambitious words, but his side's determination has certainly been incredible this term, Sunday's 3-1 success against Levadiakos making it 17 straight wins since the start of the season – the longest winning start to any European season this century. UEFA.com's Stoyan Georgiev puts that success in context.

17: Olympiacos (2015/16) — F47 A10
Back in 1966/67, Olympiacos set a club record by winning their first 11 games of the season, but – in his first campaign at the helm – Marco Silva has obliterated that tally. His side are 18 points clear of second-placed AEK Athens and on target to become only the second team – after Panathinaikos in 1963/64 – to win a Greek title without losing a match.

16: F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg, 2007/08) – F49 A7
"Never before has the team played at such a high level so consistently," said captain Sébastien Remy as Dudelange took just 20 games to win the Luxembourger title, winning 19 of them – including the first 16 – to make Michel Leflochmoan's side the brightest starters of the 2000s.

15: Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine, 2012/13) – F45 A6
"Every year it gets easier and easier for us," said Mircea Lucescu ahead of the 2012/13 Ukrainian campaign. "That's because the team has been progressing all these years and have become a title-winning machine." The Pitmen duly won their first 15 games of the season, and lost just once as they won the fourth of five successive national titles.

Bangor after winning the 2010/11 Welsh title©Christopher Williams

15: Bangor City (Wales, 2010/11) – F49 A15
Incredibly, having won their first 15 games of the season, Bangor almost contrived to throw away the title; form evaporated for a time in the spring, and it took a 1-0 last-day defeat of title rivals The New Saints to see them home. "This is the highlight of my career," said relieved manager Neville Powell.

15: FH (Iceland, 2005) – F46 A6
"To be honest, I never expected us to win 15 games in a row," FH coach Ólafur Kristjánsson said after his side's 15th win of an 18-game campaign completed a rapid title defence. "This is more than we hoped for." The Hafnarfjordur side went off the boil a little at the end, drawing two of their final three games, but still won the league by 16 points.

14: Club Brugge (Belgium, 2000/01) – F53 A8
Under Norwegian coach Trond Sollied, Club Brugge annihilated all comers until they lost 2-0 at Anderlecht on 1 December. It was the Blue-Blacks' only defeat of the autumn, but they drew nine of their first 11 games in the spring, and Anderlecht went on to steal the crown with a five-point advantage.

13: Dinamo Bucureşti (Romania, 2006-07) – F30 A7
13: Basel (Switzerland, 2003/04) – F43 A10
13: Pyunik (Armenia, 2002) – F61 A20
13: CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria, 2002/03) – F35 A5
12: Ventspils (Latvia, 2014) – F42 A4
11: Levadia Tallinn (Estonia, 2009) – F40 A4
11: Maccabi Haifa (Israel, 2005/06) – F23 A8
11: F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg, 2010/11) – F33 A6

Shakhtar won their first 15 games of the 2012/13 campaign©Oleksandr Zadiraka