Bundesliga
Is this the best Borussia Dortmund of all time?
OK, we hear you. It's a strange question to pose halfway through the season when Borussia Dortmund have not won anything yet, but there is nevertheless a case to be made that Lucien Favre's ensemble, led by Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho, Axel Witsel and Co. might just be the best BVB ever.
Hear us out. With 19 Bundesliga matches played, Dortmund top the table with 48 points. That is a club record for this stage of a campaign – and possibly argument enough for us to end this article right here.
Yet there's more. Favre became the first coach in Dortmund history to go unbeaten in his first 15 Bundesliga games in charge in what was also the club's strongest ever start to a domestic campaign.
BVB also topped the standings over the winter break as Herbstmeister, or autumn champions, and while that is only a symbolic title, it carries a weight of history: they have always gone on to lift the Meisterschale when they have been top at the halfway stage.
Still not convinced? Well, Witsel's strike to round off the 5-1 thrashing of Hannover on Matchday 19 was the club's 50th in the Bundesliga this season – currently more than any other team – and gave BVB a goal difference of plus 31.
They have never had a better record at this stage before, although they have equalled it twice: in 1994/95 under Ottmar Hitzfeld and in 2010/11 under Jürgen Klopp. Incidentally, they went on to win the title both times.
Watch: Highlights of Dortmund's Matchday 18 win over Leipzig
Not only that, but this term Dortmund have only needed an average of five shots per goal – their best ratio since data collection began in 1993. Favre's trigger-happy troops are also more unpredictable than any previous vintage, with Raphael Guerreiro becoming the team's 17th different scorer in the Bundesliga this season on Matchday 19. They have never had more scorers in an entire season before.
As persuasive as these statistics are, they can, of course, only say so much. If Dortmund do go on to win at least one piece of silverware at the end of the season, they will have an iron-clad case for being the best. But in the meantime, we suggest simply sitting back and enjoying them at work.