The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
