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The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he admitted that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say 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 losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Presence

At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.

He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."

Finding His Best Role

Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn