Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen close to breaking Celtic record

Bayer Leverkusen are probably the best team in Europe right now. That is not a statement you often make about a club who are not even in the Champions League but it seems pretty accurate for the Bundesliga leaders. They have not lost a single game this season so far and are leading Bayern Munich in the German league by 13 points. In the process, they are also closing in on one of Celtic's records.

Bayer Leverkusen are now undefeated in 39 games after their thrilling win over Hoffenheim. As reported by Football Scotland, Celtic have the second longest such run. 42 games in the 2016/17 Invincibles season.

The all-time record belongs to Juventus. It is just a game more, at 43, in the 2011/12 campaign under the management of Antonio Conte.

It is safe to say that that record is very much within Bayer Leverkusen's reach. They avoided an upset this weekend. Hoffenheim led until Xabi Alonso's side found an equaliser in the 88th minute and the winner three minutes later.

Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen close to breaking Celtic record

Bayer Leverkusen's next five games include two Europa League games against West Ham United, a DFB-Pokal semi-final against Dusseldorf and two Bundesliga games against Union Berlin and Werder Bremen. The kind of form they are in, all of those seem like winnable fixtures for Alonso's high-flying side.

At the same time, this is also a reminder of how special Celtic's Invincible team were. They have not been able to recapture that magic in Brendan Rodgers' return campaign at Parkhead.

Celtic remain in contention for a couple of trophies though. They are in the semis of the Scottish Cup and a couple of points behind the Rangers in the Premiership. Now, they need to finish the campaign strong and hope for the best.