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The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?

Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.

The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic 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. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback

At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.

He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."

Discovering His True Position

Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn