The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
