The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
