The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
