The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
