The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
