The new European football season is very much up and running and, at the first international break of the season, there are two teams in LaLiga that stand out above all the English, German, French, Italian and other Spanish clubs in two respects: Real Madrid are the only side that have won all of their matches, while Burgos CF are the only team yet to concede a single goal.
Real Madrid: 100 percent record in LaLiga and in Europe
Real Madrid were one of the first teams to kick off their new campaign, and they did so by carrying over the momentum from the previous one. On August 10th, they played their first game of the season at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, winning 2-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt to lift the first title of the season: the European Super Cup.
In LaLiga Santander, Real Madrid had a difficult first game away at UD Almeria, but still managed to grind out a victory. They then added two more important wins on the road, against RC Celta and RCD Espanyol, before home successes against Real Betis and RCD Mallorca. Most recently, they rounded off their perfect start by beating Atlético de Madrid in the Madrid Derby. With this perfect record, the capital city club sit top of LaLiga Santander, while they're the only team from the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 or the rest of Spain's top tier yet to drop a single point.
As if their domestic record wasn't already brilliant enough, Los Blancos have also played and won two matches in the Champions League group stage. In the first, in Glasgow against Celtic, they won 3-0, before their second was at the Santiago Bernabéu when they overcame RB Leipzig 2-0. So far, no team has been able to take a single point off the reigning Spanish champions.
There is a curious stat about Real Madrid's all-conquering start. Despite having won all their matches, Real Madrid have actually conceded a goal in all six of their league games so far, although they haven't let in a single goal across their European games, not in the Super Cup nor the Champions League. To have won all their league games despite conceding goals further underscores the attacking brilliance of Carlo Ancelotti's squad.
Burgos CF: An unbreakable wall
Burgos CF, meanwhile, have not conceded a single goal across the first six rounds of action in LaLiga SmartBank. That makes them the only club from the first or second divisions of Spain, England, Germany, France and Italy that still hasn't had to pick the ball out the back of their own net.
Julian Calero, the coach of Los Blanquinegros, has managed to construct a solid block thanks to his defensive knowledge, one that allows his side to compete with any opponent in LaLiga SmartBank, one of the most competitive leagues on the continent. The back line, led by the
central defensive pairing of Grego Sierra and Aitor Cordoba, and the goalkeeping of José Antonio Caro, have been the basis of the team's success in this area.
Thanks to their good defensive performances, the team are logically undefeated and they sit in sixth place, having won two games - both 1-0, maximising the productivity of their goals - and having achieved four goalless draws. This puts them just four points behind the leaders. "Whether we belong there or not, we are capable of competing against anyone and we're not going to lay down to any side," said Calero, praising his team's competitiveness in a press conference.
Having gone 540 minutes so far without conceding, Burgos CF have recorded the fourth best start in this sense in the history of LaLiga SmartBank. That record belongs to Real Racing Club de Santander, one they've held for 50 years.