The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
