The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse 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 nature of the player's talent. Billed as a wide forward 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 during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
