The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
