🔗 Share this article Cancellieri Shows Flashing Moments of Brilliance in Positive Aspect for Haywire Lazio The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito. The Campaign Unraveling? Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him. The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding. Matteo's Unexpected Presence A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options. He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently." Finding His Natural Fit Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn