The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
