The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
