The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 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, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
