The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
