The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated 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 the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
