The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals 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.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
