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The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Unraveling?

Had their campaign unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.

Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or collapsing.

The Youngster's Surprising Comeback

At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.

Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."

Finding His Best Role

It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn