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The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Coming Unstitched?

Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.

Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.

Matteo's Unexpected Presence

At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.

He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."

Discovering His True Position

Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn