5 clubs that have surprised everyone in Europe this season

#5 Lazio (Serie A)

Lazio recorded a famous victory away to Juventus in October.

A cursory glance at the Serie A table would give little reason to believe that Lazio have surprised during the campaign to date. They are currently positioned fifth in the table - the same place they finished last season.

However, a deeper look into their circumstances and the quality of their performances and results tells a different story.

Prior to the commencement of the campaign, Lazio sold live-wire forward Keita Balde - provider of 16 goals and 3 assists during the 2016/17 campaign - to Monaco, defensive midfield lynchpin Lucas Biglia to Milan, and central defender Wesley Hoedt to Southampton.

This was, therefore, expected to be a season of rebuilding for Simone Inzaghi and his side. With the likes of Milan spending big to get themselves into the mix at the top of the table, a repeat of last season’s top-five finish looked unlikely.

But Lazio do indeed look on course to not just equal that finish but to genuinely challenge for a place among the top four. Bastos has further established himself as a strong choice in defence, new signing Lucas Leiva has slotted seamlessly into midfield, while Luis Alberto has been transformed from a big-part player last season to a key attacker this time around.

They have have played bold and attractive football that has yielded an average of over 2.5 goals per match. A 4-1 thrashing of Milan in September signalled their intentions and a highly impressive 2-1 win away to reigning champions Juventus a month later provided further evidence of their quality.

If they can continue along the same lines for the remainder of the season, it would suggest that Inzaghi has a very bright future ahead of him.