Flashback: The first six months

The 2019/20 season got off on a positive note with Leonardo making his return to the club after six years away. Along with him came a number of new arrivals in Marcin Bulka, Mitchel Bakker, Ander Herrera, Idrissa Gueye, Abdou Diallo, Pablo Sarabia, Sergio Rico, Keylor Navas, and Mauro Icardi.
They settled in quickly, and soon had their boots in their bags as the squad headed off for their pre-season tour of China. The Asia Tour started well with a 6-1 win over Dynamo Dresden and that was soon followed by the Trophée des Champions thanks to a 2-1 defeat of Rennes.

It was with a 3-0 win over Nîmes Olympique that Thomas Tuchel's men got into Ligue 1 action. Keylor Navas made his debut in a 1-0 win over Strasbourg, a game which was decided by a Neymar goal just as the encounter with Lyon was. Idrissa Gueye was equally impressive on his debut in a 4-0 win over Toulouse. Paris have been top of the table since Week 4 thanks to 15 wins, despite dropping points in their meetings with Reims, Rennes and Dijon.

Their seven-point lead over second-placed Marseille says much about the first half of the season, as does the fact the Parisians boast the best defence and the best attack. But more than that, their performances have been exceptional, collectively and individually.

Take Thiago Silva: the captain has won back the ball 27 times more than he's lost it (92 to 65) in L1 this season, a better ratio than any other player on the continent. He's also the player who's completed the most passes in any of Europe's top five leagues.

The statistics were not only impressive on the domestic scene: Paris started their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 3-0 win over Real Madrid, and went through the group stage unbeaten.

There was also a successful tactical tweak from the traditional 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 that allowed the squad's formidable attacking talents to flourish in the build-up to the winter break.

"All the forwards are very good. What stands out for me is the variety and the different options that the coach has to play in one way or another. That's the key to not being predictable, and if you have the quality that we have from the off, the danger increases exponentially," explained Pablo Sarabia to Marca.

The Neymar Jr – Kylian Mbappé duo came to the fore after they were united for the first time this season on 4 December for the 2-0 win over Nantes. In the last month of the year, the pair scored no fewer than 13 goals between them.

It was quite a final month of the year with 22 goals in December, more than any other month of season to date.

The new arrivals made a sustained impact. Idrissa Gueye, Abdou Diallo, Ander Herrera and Pablo Sarabia all did well, as did two players at opposite ends of the pitch, who put up some impressive numbers.

Mauro Icardi has 14 goals and three assists in 18 appearances in a Rouge et Bleu shirt. The Argentina international has scored every 18 touches, the best ratio in any of Europe's top five leagues. Keylor Navas has conceded just 0.5 goals per game in the league this term, and has 12 clean sheets in all competitions.

There were a few nice memories to take away as well. There was Edinson Cavani's penalty with an ovation from the Parc des Princes to the autograph Kylian Mbappé signed in the middle of a game. Angel Di Maria recorded four assists against Brugge while there were first-team debuts for Adil Aouchiche and Tanguy Kouassi.

The Trophée des Champions, the Ligue 1 leaders, top of the Champions League group and through to the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue, the Parisians have gotten top marks in everything they have done so far.

"It's quite difficult for me to resume this first half of the season," Thomas Tuchel said. "But right now, I think it's going well, that we have taken some positive steps forward. We did an incredible group stage in the Champions League, we're top of the league, the team is competitive and we have a good squad. A team is like an orchestra that has to create a certain alchemy. That's why I was so happy in recent games, because I felt that there was something created between them."