Topics: AC Milan, Juventus, Roma, Napoli, Genoa, Inter, Fiorentina, Serie A
LiveSoccerTV.com takes a look at the most interesting happenings from 2016 in Serie A. Here are ten of them.

18 rounds, 20 left to go. The 2016/2017 Serie A season is pretty much halfway done, and for now, calcio fans will have to wait another few weeks as the league is on holiday break. In the meantime, there are plenty of interesting talking points - and unique stats - that have taken place over the past 12 months in Italian football's top flight. Let's have a look at some of them.

1. Genoa match Roma's long standing record

No, we are not talking in terms of goals. Or titles won. Rather, we're talking about the record the Giallorossi set back on May 2, 1937, when Amedeo Amadei made his professional debut; at that time, he was 15 years and 280 days old.

Flash-forward nearly 80 years later, and the Grifone decided to turn to youth (although they ultimately lost the game 1-0):

Pietro Pellgri became the joint-youngest ever Serie A debutant when he came on as an 88th minute sub for Genoa against Torino  

2. Are Inter finally getting back on track? Perhaps...

The Nerazzurri have indeed had a very interesting 2016. At the start of this year, they were on top of the Serie A table and were under the guidance of Roberto Mancini. Yes, as of January 6, 2016, Inter had beaten Empoli 1-0 and looked set to finally end their long wait for a Scudetto that had eluded them since 2010.

Unfortunately, that didn't come to pass. In fact, they barely scraped by to finish in fourth and secure Europa League football. Now in December, Inter have gone through several managerial changes. Ex-Lazio boss Stefano Pioli has inherited a side who crashed out of the Europa League and are struggling to even stay afloat in the top half of the table. However, there just may be some reason for optimism heading into the new year, perhaps:

3. It's raining goals at Roma

Roma may not be the top ranked side in Serie A, but they certainly have no problems finding the back of the net. The Giallorossi, who currently sit in second spot, are the second-most highest scoring side in the league with 39 goals. And in 2016, they had a pretty impressive output, too:

Will their high-scoring side help them to bridge the gap with Juventus in 2017? They will have a lot of work to do to bridge that four point gap, though.

4. Diego Maradona's record at Napoli under threat

He may have played for Napoli over two decades ago, but Diego Maradona still remains near and dear to Partenopei fans' hearts - especially the older ones who got to see him play. Not surprisingly, he's been the leading scorer in Serie A and in all comps for quite some time.

That is, until Marek Hamsik. The Slovak midfielder has been with the club since 2007, and in September, he surpassed Maradona's Serie A goals total when he netted his 82nd goal during a 3-0 win over Palermo. With 105 goals in all competitions, he is inching ever so closer to matching - and passing - Maradona's total of 115. With Napoli still having to feature in the Coppa Italia and plenty of games to go in Serie A, he just may do it this season, and if not, by the end of 2017, he will surely surpass that total.

Napoli captain Marek Hamsik needs just ten goals to catch Maradona in terms of the all-time top goalscorers list for the club

5. Juventus are absoultely perfect...at home

25. That's the number of games Juventus have won at Juventus Stadium. With their most recent win over Roma, the Bianconeri made sure they wrapped up 2016 by winning every single one of their matches in the year. That's a 100 per cent win record for 2016. This impressive record dates back to October 2015, when they defeated Bologna.

Simply unstoppable: Juventus have matched their own club record of 25 straight home records. No other team has even been able to ever match this impressive achievement

6. Luck is on the side of Torino?

Some people (especially Roma skipper Francesco Totti, for instance) have repeatedly claimed that some sides (in particularly reigning champs Juventus) get favor from referees. Whether that is  true is subject to speculation. However one thing is certain: if anyone is lucky (or favored) when it comes to getting spot-kicks, it's certainly not the Bianconeri.

Rather, it is actually their cross-town rivals, Torino. The Granata received 15 penalties in their favor in 2016, more than any other side in Serie A. In fact, Juventus did not even rank in the top five, let alone the top ten! And interestingly, Carpi, despite being relegated in May, still managed to make the top ten sides in terms of penalties received...but unfortunately all those "free" goals did not help the minnows avoid the drop. Here's how the top ten sides played out:

 

7. The kids are really alright

2016 was also the year for some impressive showings by young players, and the first half of the 2016/2017 season certainly is no exception. 17-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma has now become a household name for those who don't know much about Italian football, but Serie A fans have been well aware of the AC Milan shot-stopper's talents for quite some time. Other notable standouts include Atalana's Franck Kessie (20), who is currently the youngest player in Europe's "Big 5" leagues to have scored at least six goals this season.

Then there's Juventus's Moise Kean (16), who became the first ever player born in the 21st century to feature in Europe's top leagues and the Champions League when he came on as a late sub against Pescara and Sevilla. His Serie A record, of course, was broken not too long after by Genoa's Pietro Pellegri.

Juve starlet Moise Kean became the first player born in the new millennium to feature both in Serie A and the Champions League earlier this year

8. A milestone...well, sort of, one could say...

It goes without saying that Manolo Gabbiadini has not had a good spell at Napoli. The ex-Sampdoria striker has struggled to really fit into Maurizio Sarri's set up, and despite the departure of Gonzalo Higuain and injury to new man Arkadiusz Milik, never really managed to nail down a spot in the starting XI.

In any case, he certainly is on his way out, whether it is this January or during the summer transfer market, but perhaps has one little notable record he can sort of boast to. Gabbiadini netted a spot-kick for Napoli to salvage a point against Fiorentina, and that just so happened to be a notable one for the league:

 

9. DID YOU KNOW: The YOUNGEST goal-scorer in Serie A this season was...

Sassuolo's Claud Adjapong. The 18-year-old, who plays for the Neroverdi as a right-back netted his team's first goal during a seven-goal thriller against Cagliari. Unfortunately, Sassuolo ended up losing that game, but the Ghanaian youngster, who was born Italy, at least had something to brag about to his family and friends over Christmas break.

Adjapong has featured for the land of his birth at the u-19 level, but Ghana certainly will be keeping their eye on him and his development in a hope to recruit him for the Black Stars at senior level

10. The battle to avoid the dreaded drop...

Finally, we take a look at the sides who look set to be battling the drop in 2017. Up until their shock road win over Genoa, Palermo had lost nine straight Serie A games. That was a club record. The Rosanero, however, still have yet to win a home game and will be obviously hoping to correct that in 2017.

Meanwhile, debutants Crotone achieved their first ever top flight win when they beat Chievo 2-0, but the Squali still have a long way to go if they want to avoid relegation. Empoli may be in 17th spot, but they still have the worst attack in the league. Up until their 4-0 win over Pescara in November, the Azzurri had scored just two goals. They only have ten so far, and will have to improve this output in order to stay afloat.

As for Pescara, they are still the only side yet to win an "actual" game on the pitch. The sole victory the Delfini have earned was granted to them as a result of Sassuolo's administrative error, but still sit on the bottom of the table.

What will fans see in 2017? Will Juventus make it an unprecedented sixth straight Scudetto? Or will someone knock them off their title perch? We will have to wait until January 7th to find out!