🇮🇹 Serie A's mid-term report cards 📝 | OneFootball

We’re now exactly midway through the Serie A season.

Milan are winter champions, Juventus look vulnerable and the new boys have been surprisingly impressive.

It is time to hand out our mid-term report cards.

Atalanta

Sitting in fourth and coming into the second half off the back of a stunning 3-0 win against Milan at San Siro, La Dea have been quietly excellent, if a little inconsistent, and are perhaps victims of their own recent ridiculous high standards.

🥳 Best Moment: The aforementioned big win against the leaders was a massive statement that they still mean business.

😫 Worst Moment: The complete breakdown in the relationship between Gian Piero Gasperini and captain Papu Gómez that will see the club legend leave this month.

🔝 Best Player: Robin Gosens

📊 Key Stat: This is Atalanta’s best ever points tally (36) for the first half of a 20-team top flight campaign.

🎓 Grade: B

Benevento

Popular opinion had Benevento going straight back down (particularly after their shambolic showing last time they were in Serie A) but the Stregoni have been a breath of fresh air under Filippo Inzaghi so far.

🥳 Best Moment: Their first game of the season was a sign of the excitement to come as Benevento fought back from 2-0 down for a stunning 3-2 win away to Sampdoria.

😫 Worst Moment: For all of their impressive performances in tough contests, they have lost by three goals against both fellow newly-promoted sides.

🔝 Best Player: Gaetano Letizia

📊 Key Stat: Benevento have won more points (22) in the first half of the season than they did in the entirety of the 2017/18 Serie A campaign.

🎓 Grade: B

Bologna

Despite their massive defensive problems, the Rossoblu are an exciting side at the other end, making them must-watch this year and they should be strong enough to secure a comfortable mid-table position.

🥳 Best Moment: Simply seeing Sinisa Mihajalović back in the dugout and looking healthy again after his major health scare at the start of last season.

😫 Worst Moment: When Morten Thorsby scored for Sampdoria in November to see Bologna set a very unwanted Serie A record (see below).

🔝 Best Player: Roberto Soriano

📊 Key Stat: Bologna went an Italian top flight record 41 straight games without keeping a clean sheet before keeping out Crotone, with only Bordeaux in 1960 have a poorer performance in Europe’s top five leagues.

🎓 Grade: D

Cagliari

Despite losing their last seven successive games, Cagliari bizarrely celebrated that feat by handing coach Eusebio Di Francesco a new contract until the summer of 2023.

🥳 Best Moment: Bringing club hero Radja Nainggolan back on loan at the start of January for a third spell could be just the boost they need in their survival fight.

😫 Worst Moment: Marco Sau coming back to haunt them and Nahitan Nández getting sent off in the defeat to Benevento was as bad as it gets.

🔝 Best Player: Alessio Cragno

📊 Key Stat: Cagliari have allowed 318 shots on goal this season, more than any other Serie A side. Only two teams in Europe’s top five leagues have given away more.

🎓 Grade: E

Crotone

Not much was expected of Crotone, who traditionally don’t come alive until late in the season when they mount spectacular great escape bids. So it is no massive surprise to see them sitting bottom.

🥳 Best Moment: Their rousing 4-1 victories against both Spezia and Benevento were rare exciting and anxiety-free moments.

😫 Worst Moment: Their 6-2 loss to Inter marked the first time they have conceded six times in Serie A.

🔝 Best Player: Simy

📊 Key Stat: They have only beaten one team (Parma) this season who did not join them in being promoted from Serie B in the summer.

🎓 Grade: D

Fiorentina

Cesare Prandelli is back in charge again after Beppe Iachini’s sacking but things haven’t improved all that much, with the Viola sitting 12th and looking extremely inconsistent.

🥳 Best Moment: Undoubtedly the stunning 3-0 win at Juventus before Christmas which came out of nowhere and was only their second win away to the Old Lady in the last 30 years, the other one also coming during Prandelli’s first spell in charge.

😫 Worst Moment: Watching yet another star they have nurtured make the move to hated rivals Juventus, Federico Chiesa, is always a bitter pill to swallow in Florence.

🔝 Best Player: Nikola Milenković

📊 Key Stat: The shock win in Turin was the first time ever in Serie A that Juventus have been beaten by three goals at the Allianz Stadium.

🎓 Grade: D

Genoa

Enrico Preziosi has been at it again with the trigger-happy president panicking over the club’s struggles to sack Rolando Maran and bring Davide Ballardini back for a fourth spell at the helm.

🥳 Best Moment: The matchday 19 game against Cagliari had the feel of a relegation six-pointer to it and Mattia Destro’s lone goal in the 1-0 win could look very important come May.

😫 Worst Moment: The embarrassing 2-0 defeat at Benevento before Christmas ultimately resulted in Maran being denied his panettone following his sacking the following day.

🔝 Best Player: Mattia Destro

📊 Key Stat: Only three players have a better goals-to-minutes ratio in Serie A this season than Mattia Destro (96) among those with five or more goals.

🎓 Grade: D

Hellas Verona

Ivan Jurić’s stock continues to rise, with the Mastini currently sitting in eighth and looking like a good outside bet to secure European football.

🥳 Best Moment: The continued emergence of Mattia Zaccagni and his magnificent array of flicks and tricks make him a player destined for big things.

😫 Worst Moment: Their 2-0 loss to Sassuolo was the only time this season they’ve been beaten by more than one goal. That is an indicator of how organised and impressive they are.

🔝 Best Player: Marco Silvestri

📊 Key Stat: Along with Spezia, Verona are the only team who have yet to score a goal from outside the box this season.

🎓 Grade: B

Inter

Domestically, it is hard to find much fault with Inter so far this season and, although there are defensive holes, they’ve been relentless in attack and look like they’ll be in the Scudetto shake-up until the end.

🥳 Best Moment: The matchday 18 win over Juventus was their first in that fixture for almost five years and laid down a serious marker to the champions.

😫 Worst Moment: The Derby della Madonnina defeat against Milan was a sore one to take but their response to it has been exceptional.

🔝 Best Player: Romelu Lukaku

📊 Key Stat: With 45 goals, the Nerazzurri have scored more than any other Serie A side this season.

🎓 Grade: A

Juventus

The jury is still out on the Andrea Pirlo era, with the Bianconeri looking like they are in serious danger of relinquishing their crown due to the ongoing inconsistency issues.

🥳 Best Moment: Milan looked unbeatable this season and hadn’t tasted a league defeat in almost 10 months until Juventus turned up at San Siro and blew them away thanks to an inspired display from Chiesa.

😫 Worst Moment: The 3-0 defeat at home to Fiorentina before Christmas was as shocking a result as they have suffered in some time.

🔝 Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

📊 Key Stat: When Ronaldo went the last two games before halfway without scoring, it was the first time in 14 months in Serie A he had failed to do so. He’s 36 in two weeks!

🎓 Grade: C

Milan

Milan are more than justifying the club’s decision to keep faith with Stefano Pioli, who has the club dreaming of title glory once more after ending the first half as winter champions.

🥳 Best Moment: There are a lot but Rafael Leão breaking the record for the fastest goal in Serie A history is a special piece of history.

😫 Worst Moment: There are not a lot to choose from here but take your pick as to whether the Juventus loss or shock Atalanta humiliation was more disappointing.

🔝 Best Player: Theo Hernández

📊 Key Stat: Milan’s run of scoring 2+ goals for 17 consecutive Serie A games stands as an all-time league record.

🎓 Grade: A

Lazio

Although the Aquile have somewhat failed to hit the heady heights of last season, they are still well-placed to make another assault on a top four finish once more.

🥳 Best Moment: It simply has to be that phenomenal 3-0 destruction of Roma in the derby. It could even have been more.

😫 Worst Moment: Losing defender Luiz Felipe, who has became an important part of the side, for the season with an ankle problem is a big blow.

🔝 Best Player: Luis Alberto

📊 Key Stat: After adding to his tally this season, no Serie A midfielder has more headed goals than Sergej Milinkovic-Savić’s 10 since his debut in 2015.

🎓 Grade: B

Napoli

It has been a strange season of ups and downs at the Partenopei, with frustrating backwards steps every time they appear to be making real progress under Gennaro Gattuso.

🥳 Best Moment: They have won games 6-0 on two separate occasions and thrashed Atalanta 4-1, showing how good this team can be when they click.

😫 Worst Moment: The passing of the club’s greatest ever player, Diego Maradona, in November which led to an outpouring of grief in the city and the stadium being renamed in his honour.

🔝 Best Player: Lorenzo Insigne

📊 Key Stat: It is all or nothing with Napoli. They have yet to draw a game away from home and have been held just once at home.

🎓 Grade: C

Parma

After enduring a torrid time under Fabio Liverani, Roberto D’Aversa has returned in a bid to right the ship and prevent the club sliding back into Serie B.

🥳 Best Moment: Gervinho’s stunning first time volley away to Inter is one of the most difficult and technical strikes you’ll see in the league this season.

😫 Worst Moment: The 3-0 home defeat to an equally abject Torino side was grim viewing.

🔝 Best Player: Juraj Kucka

📊 Key Stat: Their 14 goals in 19 games makes Parma the poorest attack in the division by some distance.

🎓 Grade: F

Roma

They often disappoint just when you begin to believe but with this Roma side, there is every reason to think that they can exorcise some of the ghosts of the past. There are issues but they are exciting and disciplined.

🥳 Best Moment: On the eve of the new season, Roma fans got what they had all been waiting for as hated owner James Pallotta finally confirmed his sale of the club to the Friedkin group.

😫 Worst Moment: The clerical error which cost them a 3-0 defeat in their season opener is unforgivable at this level. The fact that something similar happened again in their Coppa Italia exit is appalling. But oh so Roma.

🔝 Best Player: Henrikh Mkhitaryan

📊 Key Stat: If only home form was taken into account, Paulo Fonseca’s side would be sitting atop Serie A at the halfway point.

🎓 Grade: B

Sampdoria

Claudio Ranieri has navigated a difficult time for the Blucerchiati expertly, currently sitting in mid-table at the midway point.

🥳 Best Moment: Only Milan had beaten Inter this season until the first week of January, when Samp handed them a shock defeat at the Marassi.

😫 Worst Moment: The defeat to Benevento from 2-0 should not have happened but they’ve since rectified their home form.

🔝 Best Player: Jakub Jankto

📊 Key Stat: Sampdoria’s run of 14 games without a clean sheet was the longest such streak of Ranieri’s prestigious Serie A career.

🎓 Grade: B

Sassuolo

The Roberto De Zerbi revolution at the Mapei Stadium shows no signs of stopping as every neutral’s favourite (that isn’t Atalanta) continue to punch well above their weight.

🥳 Best Moment: The month of October. They started by smashing Crotone 4-1. Then they fought back from 3-1 down on 64 minutes to beat Bologna before pulling off another Houdini act a week later by coming back from the same score on 84 minutes to draw with Torino.

😫 Worst Moment: There isn’t really a lot you can pick here. They’ve lost only five games and each of them came against last season’s top five.

🔝 Best Player: Manuel Locatelli

📊 Key Stat: Since their promotion in 2013, Sassuolo are averaging 1.4 points when Domenico Berardi is on the field for them, compared to 0.9 without him.

🎓 Grade: B

Spezia

In their first ever season in this division, Spezia have defied all expectations to date and look on track for an unlikely survival thanks to the continued excellent work from Vincenzo Italiano.

🥳 Best Moment: After going a goal down, their comeback victory away to Napoli is their biggest result of the season so far.

😫 Worst Moment: Roma’s last gasp winner in the capital after Spezia had rallied from 3-1 down and looked on track for a shock point. Lorenzo Pellegrini’s late goal was a real gut punch.

🔝 Best Player: M’Bala Nzola

📊 Key Stat: Roberto Piccoli, 19, is the youngest current player to have scored at least two goals in Serie A.

🎓 Grade: A

Torino

The mismanagement of one of Italy’s biggest names under Urbano Cairo continues and there is a very real danger that, after the Marco Giampaolo era ended so swiftly, their Serie A tenure could come to an end this year.

🥳 Best Moment: In a season that has only had two victories, Wilfried Singo’s emergence has given hope and encouragement.

😫 Worst Moment: Predictably throwing away another promising position in the derby, letting a 1-0 lead in the 77th minute slip and succumb to another loss away to Juventus.

🔝 Best Player: Andrea Belotti

📊 Key Stat: Torino’s 25 goals conceded after half-time is more than any other team in the division.

🎓 Grade: F

Udinese

Given the relatively meagre resources at Luca Gotti’s disposal, he is doing a quietly decent job after stepping out of the shadows of assistant coach to assume control.

🥳 Best Moment: Ignacio Pussetto’s late winner against Parma was the Zebrette’s first of the season. Unfortunately, only three more have followed.

😫 Worst Moment: The club’s recent form is becoming cause for concern. While they have remained a tough opponent even during their ongoing nine-game winless run, it is getting a little worrying.

🔝 Best Player: Rodrigo de Paul

📊 Key Stat: Udinese are the ‘cleanest’ side in the league so far, picking up just 36 yellow cards and no dismissals.

🎓 Grade: C