The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
