Ancelotti's side closing in on second-best streak in Real Madrid's history

So far, so good. Following a shaky start to the season, Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid have impressed in 2013-14 and if, as expected, the Blancos avoid defeat at home to lowly Elche on Saturday, they will be the second-best side in the club's history. Statistically speaking, that is.

All at sea and lacking balance in the early months of the season, as Ancelotti admitted frequently, Madrid lost 1-0 to Atletico in a derby clash at the Santiago Bernabeu in late September and also went down to their fiercest foes, Barcelona, in a 2-1 defeat at Camp Nou a little less than a month later.

Since then, however, their record is unblemished: 21 wins, four draws and no defeats. Victories against Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, Real Sociedad, Almeria, Galatasaray, Valladolid, Olimpic Xativa, FC Copenhagen, Valencia, Osasuna (over two legs in the Copa del Rey), Celta Vigo, Espanyol (once in La Liga and twice in Copa) Betis, Granada, Atletico (home and away in the cup), Villarreal and Getafe have all been obtained by the capital club, along with draws at Olimpic, Juventus, Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao.

The record is already more impressive than Fabio Capello's Madrid side of 1996-97, who managed 25 games unbeaten but drew eight of those in the first spell of their only other Italian coach