The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
