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The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?

Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.

Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.

Matteo's Unexpected Comeback

One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."

Finding His True Position

Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn