The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
