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 allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in 2022-23, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
