The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
