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The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.

A Season Falling Apart?

Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.

The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.

Cancellieri's Unexpected Return

One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.

He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."

Finding His Best Role

Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn