Fans are just realising Bayer Leverkusen HAVEN'T broken the all-time unbeaten record in football

Bayer Leverkusen may have broken the UEFA record for most consecutive matches unbeaten - but the all-time world record remains very much intact.

The new Bundesliga champions have gone 49 matches unbeaten, including European competitions, as a result of their dramatic 2-2 draw with Roma on Thursday night that sent them through to the Europa League final.

The record was previously held by Benfica, who went 48 games unbeaten between December 1963 and January 1965.

A large number of European teams have, in fact, broken that record when it comes to domestic competitions only, with the best unbeaten run of the 21st century being recorded by Gibraltarian side Lincoln Red Imps.

The Red Imps, who play all their matches at the Victoria Stadium - the territory's only multi-purpose stadium - went on an unbeaten run that lasted an astonishing 88 matches and 1,959 days between May 2009 and September 2014.

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During that time, though, Gibraltar was not a UEFA member, so none of their sides played in European competitions.

However, you have to go further back in time to find the club with the longest-ever unbeaten record, consisting of league and cup matches only.

Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest went an astonishing 119 games unbeaten between 1986 and 1989, winning three Romanian Cups and three league titles during that time.

Some of their most notable results include a 11-0 thrashing of Corvinul Hunedoara, an 8-1 win over Bacau and a thrilling 6-4 victory at Universitatea Craiova.

That unbeaten run domestically also accompanied the Romanian side's first-ever European triumph, with Steaua lifting the 1986 European Cup after beating the Terry Venables-led Barcelona on penalties.

Their record-breaking streak eventually came to an end in September 1989 after a 3-0 home defeat to rivals Dinamo Bucharest - who would eventually pip Steaua to the league title by a single point.

Meanwhile, the second-longest unbeaten run of all-time belongs to Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas, who went 108 games without defeat between 1989 and 1994.

Most of that run was achieved under the management of French coach Troussier, who earned Ivorian citizenship during his time at the club and then managed the country's national team for a short period.