The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
