The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
