The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
