The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. 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 but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
