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The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Unraveling?

Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.

Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return

A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.

Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."

Uncovering His True Position

Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn