The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
