Chelsea's defensive record remains safe but one team in Europe could do better | OneFootball

After Arsenal conceded three goals at home to Manchester United on Sunday, Chelsea's record of only 15 goals conceded in a season continues for another year. However, there is one team in Europe who could match or beat that this season...

The Blues conceded just 15 under José Mourinho in the 2004/05 season in which Chelsea dominated the league keeping 25 clean sheets in total and picking up 95 points.

It's hard to imagine Chelsea's record being beaten in the Premier League when even a team as defensively sound as Arsenal can only hold out until January before conceding more. Part of that is because that Blues side were simply so good under Mourinho but also because there was generally fewer goals scored in the mid 2000s then there is now in the English top flight as the game ebbs and flows with various rule changes and more competitiveness.

However, there is a team in Europe who are managing to stay even more solid at the back and they also have a Chelsea connection. The London club recruited José Mourinho from FC Porto for that record-breaking season alongside Paulo Ferreira and defensive stalwart Ricardo Carvalho.

The current Porto team has arguably the best defence in Europe, one that includes former Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva and ex-Premier League players Jakub Kiwior and Jan Bednarek.

Interestingly, Thiago Silva made his Porto debut at the age of 41 earlier this month in a 1-0 win over rivals Benfica in the Taça de Portugal but Silva had already made his Porto B debut almost 22 years earlier when they were playing in the third tier of Portuguese football.

But let's move on to Porto's remarkable defensive record this year.

Francesco Farioli's side are running away with the league title sitting four points clear of Sporting and seven of Mourinho's Benfica with a game in hand (which will be played at home to Gil Vicente this evening).

Out of 18 league games conceded this year, Porto have conceded just four goals while scoring 37 and remain undefeated (17 wins, one draw).

Only three players have scored goals against goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the league this year: Alan of Moreirense, Víctor Gómez of Braga, and Abraham Marcus of Estrela da Amadora with the other goal having been an own goal in the win over Sporting.

With over half of the domestic season complete and just 16 games left to play, if Porto continue to hold strong at the back the Dragons could not only do better than Chelsea' defensive record (albeit in 34-game season instead of the Premier League's 38) but also top the current Portuguese defensive record for a 34-game campaign: 11 by Porto in the 1991/1992 season.