The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
