The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
Matteo's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant 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 owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
