The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
