The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic 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, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
