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The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Unraveling?

Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.

The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return

At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."

Discovering His Best Role

Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn