Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ante Rebic and Notable Stats for AC Milan from January

In their final game of December, AC Milan were thrashed 5-0 by Atalanta to finish 2019 in 11th place in Serie A, eight points off a European berth.

A month later, after an undefeated January, they are tied on 31 points with sixth-place Cagliari in the Italian top flight and have a spot in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back at the club, and after a rotten 2019, things are finally looking up for the seven-time European champions.

Milan Statistical Leaders in Serie A

Goals: Theo Hernandez (5), Krzysztof Piatek (4), Ante Rebic (3), Giacomo Bonaventura (2), Hakan Calhanoglu (2), Rafael Leao (2), Frank Kessie (1), Suso (1), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (1)

Assists: Suso (2), Theo Hernandez (2), Andrea Conti (1), Davide Calabria (1), Hakan Calhanoglu (1), Lucas Biglia (1), Lucas Paqueta (1), Rade Krunic (1), Samu Castillejo (1)

Milan took 10 points from 12 available in Serie A in January.

They kicked off 2020 with a 0-0 home draw against Sampdoria before beating Cagliari 2-0, Udinese 3-2 and Brescia 1-0.

The six goals Milan scored in January is equal to the combined total they netted in October and November.

Three of those were scored by Ante Rebic.

The 26-year-old joined Milan on a two-year loan deal from Eintracht Frankfurt in September. He spent most of the first half of the 2019-20 campaign warming the bench, playing just 179 minutes of Milan's opening 19 games of the Serie A season.

Against Udinese, though, manager Stefano Pioli threw him on at half-time with Milan trailing 1-0, and he equalised three minutes after the break.

Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

The Croatia international then scored a stoppage-time winner. Five days later against Brescia, Rebic came off the bench again to secure all three points with a 71st-minute goal.

As well as a string of good results in Serie A, Milan also made it through two rounds of the Coppa Italia in January. Midway through the month, they swept past SPAL with a 3-0 victory in the last 16.

And on Tuesday, the Rossoneri booked their spot in the semis by beating Torino 4-2. A 91st-minute equaliser from Hakan Calhanoglu forced extra time at San Siro. And in the additional half-hour, Calhanoglu netted again to put Milan ahead before substitute Ibrahimovic ensured their spot in the last four, where they will face Juventus.

The Swedish striker, who sealed his return to Milan in December, played a part in all four of the club's Serie A games in January. The first appearance of his second stint at the club came from the bench against Samp. He scored Milan's second in the 2-0 win against Cagliari in his first start since his return.

Set up by Theo Hernandez, Ibrahimovic's first-time finish from 12 yards out was typically nonchalant.

In the victory over Udinese, he became the fastest player to register 150 Serie A wins, reaching the milestone in his 222nd appearance.

At 38, Zlatan will not be able to start every match for Milan across the remainder of the season. But he remains a top-class finisher, and his mere presence appears to have had a positive impact on the club.