Serie A midseason awards: Juventus still the team to beat

We're halfway there. With 19 matches played (for most clubs), here's a look at the best, and worst, of the Serie A season so far.

Story of the Season: AC Milan's revival

Not much was expected of AC Milan to start the season. Few summer reinforcements arrived as Silvio Berlusconi negotiated the sale of the club he has owned for more than three decades.

But manager Vincenzo Montella - appointed to fill a position that appeared to be more poisonous than ambitious - gave Milan direction. He gave chances to some of the team's prospects, often fielding the youngest XI in Serie A, and still produced results.

Suso, previously shipped on loan and neglected by previous coaches, finally found a home on Milan's right flank, and Giacomo Bonaventura emerged as a leader.

After missing out on European football for three seasons, the Rossoneri finally have a shot at qualifying for the Champions League.

Beating Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana only validated Montella's early work, and many believe the shootout victory signalled the start of a new era.

Best Player: Edin Dzeko

No longer a liability on Roma's front line, Edin Dzeko is now giving the club a return on its investment.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international was signed from Manchester City to solve a habitual void up top. Previous players tried and failed to score on a regular basis for the Giallorossi, but Dzeko has found success in the first half of the season.

With 18 goals across all competitions, the 30-year-old is putting himself in open positions and giving Roma a chance to go blow for blow with Serie A leader Juventus.

No other player in Europe's top-five leagues has fired more shots than Dzeko's 94 this season - an indication manager Luciano Spalletti has provided his player with the license to go for goal upon sight of it.

And he isn't filling the scoresheet against inconsequential opponents. Dzeko's goals have so far decided six matches, including a brace against direct rival Napoli.

Biggest Disappointment: Sassuolo

2016 was supposed to be the year of Sassuolo. Three years after promotion to Serie A for the first time in club history, the Neroverdi clinched a spot in the Europa League ahead of Milan. It was a glorious achievement on the back of a predominantly Italian team, led by rising manager Eusebio Di Francesco.

Sassuolo didn't quite mirror the success of Leicester City, but it was a close facsimile.

Although the year started well - Di Francesco's side navigated the preliminary round of the Europa League to reach the round of 64 - it slowly fell apart. Sassuolo, deeply affected by star striker Domenico Berardi's long-term injury, is out of the competition and sitting just eight points away from the relegation zone.

Winless in its past five Serie A matches, the Emilia-Romagna outfit is on a dangerous downtrend.

Biggest Surprise: Atalanta

Four losses in Atalanta's opening five Serie A fixtures made the Bergamo side an early favourite for the drop.

It is now competing for a European qualification spot.

Stand-out performances from previously unknown players gave life to a club that for years was happy with its mid-table existence. Staying in Serie A was always the aim.

Priorities changed as Atalanta won nine of 10 games between September and November, and Europe's juggernauts began to take notice of the players who authored the turnaround.

Midfield marshal Franck Kessie is one of several starters linked to a big-money move, Roberto Gagliardini is about to join Inter for a reported €25 million, and defender Mattia Caldara is considered the future of the Juventus backline.

Whether Atalanta can sustain itself for the remainder of the season is a question the club will answer in the coming months.

Breakout Star: Andrea Belotti

Andrea Belotti's first few months of the season earned him a first senior Italy call-up and a brand new contract with a €100-million release clause. Those are the rewards for the Torino hitman, who has emerged as the Azzurri's best striker at the moment.

His tireless application and predatory instincts make him more than a penalty-box poacher. He is equally good in the air, with his left and right foot, and he is not averse to running hard without the ball.

Belotti has 13 league goals so far, and reportedly tempted Arsenal with a bid around €65 million.

But Torino is holding firm at the moment, and why not? At 22 years old, he is the potential to be a top scorer for many more years.

More importantly, he has solved Italy's annual dilemma at the striker position. The Azzurri haven't had a confident forward since the days of Luca Toni and Filippo Inzaghi, and by the time Belotti finishes his career, he could end up better than both.

Best Signing: Miralem Pjanic

The biggest transfer story of the summer belonged to Gonzalo Higuain, whose acrimonious departure from Napoli to Juventus left southern Italy ablaze.

But Miralem Pjanic's exit from Roma was even worse.

If Juventus didn't stump up the €90 million to buy Higuain, Napoli wouldn't have sold him. Neither did the Argentine actively force the move.

Pjanic did. He handed in a transfer request once Juve's interest became official, and agreed to pay 20 percent of his activation clause to join the Old Lady.

Juventus didn't even have to pay all of the €32-million fee - a relatively modest figure for a such an influential player.

More importantly, the five-time defending Serie A champion was able to reduce the strength of a direct title challenger. Addition by subtraction.

It took a few months before manager Massimiliano Allegri found the right position for the 26-year-old, who put in underwhelming performances as a deep-lying player, but he's made the most of his more advanced role behind the strikers.

Biggest Bust: Gabigol

Gabriel Barbosa arrived in Milan as one of Inter's marquee summer signings, and when he made his club debut in September, supporters at the San Siro gave him a standing ovation.

Since then, the €25-million acquisition has appeared just twice for the Nerazzurri - both times as a late substitute.

He has not exactly underperformed, because he hasn't been allowed the opportunity to show his skill as a goal-scorer. Captain Mauro Icardi's permanent presence in the starting XI does Gabigol no favours. But there's a sense Inter doesn't know how to use its young signings, stemming back from the club's misuse of fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho. The Liverpool playmaker waited and waited for his chance, and only got it once he left.

Favourite Moment: Higuain vs. Napoli

No Napoli fans were allowed to attend the big-league clash at Juventus Stadium, but Higuain still respectively acknowledged his former club after drilling the deciding goal in a 2-1 win over the Partenopei in October.

Several people, including his Juventus teammates, called for Higuain to celebrate if he did indeed score against Napoli.

Instead, he showed class after an otherwise messy breakup. Like many of the port city's jilted supporters, Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri was left behind in the summer without the courtesy of a phone call from the Argentine. But the two seemed to get the closure they needed on that late October evening, sharing a warm embrace before the start of the match.

"I still consider him to be like a son, even though the transfer to Juventus made me feel bad," said Sarri.

Best XI

Recognition is hard to fit in 11 places, so naturally there are players missing from Italy's common 3-5-2 formation. Mohamed Salah and Icardi are just as deserving a mention as Felipe Anderson and Belotti, but the latter two have arguably been their clubs' best players. Alex Sandro may be the most improved player of the past half season, while Wojciech Szczesny's key saves reminded onlookers he's worth a permanent deal.