The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
