The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
