The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
