The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
