Serie A midseason review: Juventus remain the team to beat

Halfway through the season and an even-stronger Juventus once again look unstoppable in their quest for another Serie A title.

Serie A featured the tightest title race of all of Europe’s five major domestic leagues last season. If Juventus have their way this season, they hope to wrap up the league early and compete for the Champions League.

While the Bianconeri have looked unstoppable over the past four months, there are several contenders who haven’t given up on the title chase. Napoli and Inter Milan have emerged as contenders, although Juventus have done an effective job of being consistent and hard to beat. As a result, Juventus have kept a safe distance from the chasing pack.

Juventus center-back Leonardo Bonucci, in an interview with DAZN, said that “Napoli are definitely the team that can cause us most problems” in the Scudetto race.

Further down the table, the fighting for that fourth Champions League spot features five teams (a surging AC Milan, followed by Lazio, Torino and Atalanta), while the fierce relegation battle is highlighted by the presence of Udinese and Bologna, two perennial top-flight sides.

Here’s a look at some of the good (and bad) to emerge so far this season.

Best player: Cristiano Ronaldo

The Portuguese star generated headlines and hype over the summer after leaving Real Madrid for Juventus. After a slow start to the season, Ronaldo has proved that he can put up big numbers — even though he’s a year older and Serie A defenses are among the toughest in Europe. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has impressed this season. Through 15 league matches, Ronaldo has tallied 10 goals and six assists.

The 33-year-old Ronaldo has done a very good job integrating himself at Juve, even taking on a leadership role as well as bagging goals when the team has needed them most. In a recent interview with the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Portuguese international said: “It is not fair to only mention some, but I can say that this is the best group that I have played with. Here we are a team. In other places some feel bigger than the rest, but here they are all on the same level, they are humble and they want to win.”

In the same interview, Ronaldo even took a shot at Real Madrid, saying, “If [Paulo] Dybala or [Mario] Mandzukic don’t score, they are still happy and they smile. It’s really nice and I can see the difference. In Madrid they are humble but here I feel they are more so. It is very different from Madrid; this is a family.”

Honorable mention: Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) 

Best manager: Carlo Ancelotti (Napoli)

Napoli haven’t lost a beat under new manager Carlo Ancelotti. The post-Maurizio Sarri era has been equally successful. The biggest knock against Sarri was Napoli’s inability to win a league title last season and his refusal to use his bench. Ancelotti has done the latter, but he’s unlikely to achieve the former.

Napoli’s biggest problem is how to take points away from Juve. Napoli lost to Juventus earlier this season and dropped to the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group. That Napoli remain a contender on several fronts, even with a new manager, is something to marvel at.

Ancelotti is a proven winner. Napoli could very well be his biggest challenge. It remains to be seen if Napoli spend money during the January transfer window, or whether Ancelotti will have to make do with what he has. Napoli can’t finish the season without a trophy, so look to Ancelotti to continue pushing his players on various fronts into the new year.

Honorable mention: Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus) 

Biggest surprise: Sassuolo

There have been a few good surprises in Serie A so far this season. There have been several clubs (like Torino and Parma) that were considered relegation candidates who have instead pushed themselves into mid-table status. They even pose a threat for a spot in Europe next season.

However, Sassuolo have played some amazing soccer in recent months to not a lot of fanfare. Both clinical defensively and ruthless offensively, the Neroverdi have delighted their fans this season. Sassuolo have benefited from coach Roberto De Zerbi’s experience last season with top-flight newcomers Benevento.

De Zerbi isn’t new at overachieving. He’s utilized two formations (3-4-3 and 4-3-3) like he did at Benevento. The team have been a joy to watch and Kevin-Prince Boateng has excelled. The ability to take so many shots from within the penalty box shows just how much this team like to push forward. This is a team that’s relatively young (the average age of the squad is just 25.3 years old) and one looking to continue shocking opponents in the second half of the season.

Biggest disappointment: Roma

Roma were supposed to be a team challenging for the Scudetto. Instead, the Giallorossi have played inconsistently despite spending money to strengthen their lineup. Last season’s surprise semifinal appearance in the Champions League was something to build upon. It doesn’t look like the club have managed it.

The team have struggled to stay in the top four all season and could slide further down the table. There have been plenty of lowlights so far this season for manager Eusebio Di Francesco. Defeats to AC Milan, Bologna and Spal highlighted this team’s limitations.

This is a team that have some big names (although injuries at various times to Edin Dzeko, Javier Pastore, Daniele De Rossi, Diego Perotti and Lorenzo Pellegrini haven’t helped), so tactical changes may be on the horizon if they don’t improve soon.

One has to wonder if a string of defeats in early 2019 could result in Di Francesco’s sacking this season. Roma really need to start piling on the wins, and maybe even go on another Champions League run, or ownership could very well get rid of Di Francesco before season’s end.

Biggest question: Will anyone be able to stop Juventus?

Ronaldo’s addition has jumpstarted the Juve attack even more than in previous years. For a team that were hard to beat in the past, this is a Juve side built to compete with the best in Europe. It has therefore been pretty easy for them to win games domestically. The team, for example, is averaging nearly 20 shots per game to their opponents’ nine.

Can anyone stop Juve? Only Napoli have a chance and that looks highly unlikely at this point. Juventus really want to capture the Champions League, which could see them focus their energy on Europe in the latter stage of the season, but they have a deep enough squad and a big enough buffer in the table that that shouldn’t impact them domestically.

Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri told reporters the team “is a place where you can work very well, with great organization. We don’t achieve great results just because we buy great players, or just because of great technical organization. Great results are achieved because the club is strong and solid. You can’t have good results without a great management or club, it would be difficult for the coach and for the players.”