The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
