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The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Falling Apart?

Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.

The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.

Cancellieri's Unforeseen Return

At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."

Finding His Natural Fit

Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn