The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
