The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
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 instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
