Aberdeen’s red-hot start has been refreshing to see for many in Scottish football.
New manager Jimmy Thelin has more than hit the ground running, leading the Reds to 12 wins on the spin in all competitions to put Aberdeen joint-top of the Premiership with Celtic and into the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup as they continue their quest to end the 10-year-long wait for a major trophy.
Aberdeen have not tasted defeat domestically since narrowly missing out to Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final back in April, with their last Premiership loss coming in a 1-0 defeat to Dundee a few weeks earlier. But it’s not just in Scotland that the men from the Granite City are getting people talking.
Following the events of Tuesday night’s Champions League fixtures, Thelin’s men are now THE ONLY team in the top 50 countries ranked by UEFA who have a 100 per cent record in all competitions this season. European heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich remain beaten in all competitions but have all dropped points in their respective domestic leagues.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League action, Premiership rivals Celtic, Portuguese league champions Sporting and Eredivisie title holders PSV Eindhoven also had a flawless record but have since seen that disappear. Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops were torn to shreds in their staggering 7-1 away defeat to Borussia Dortmund while Dutch champions PSV looked set to preserve their 100 per cent start until Daniel Braganca netted a late equaliser for visitors Sporting.
The Dons will look to maintain their remarkable position as Europe’s top performing side when they welcome Hearts to Pittodrie on Sunday. There will be tougher tests to come for Thelin and his troops in the next month with Aberdeen facing Celtic and Rangers in the league – and Celtic again at Hampden in the last four of the cup – but the Swede has got the whole of the north-east rocking as fans start to believe that anything is possible.