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The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.

This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?

Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.

Matteo's Unforeseen Comeback

A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.

Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."

Uncovering His Best Role

It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn