The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- 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."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
