The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
