The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. 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."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
