The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
