Emerson blames Chelsea’s ‘lack of attention’ for heavy Manchester United defeat

As Antonio Conte used to say, we must pay great attention. Unfortunately, Chelsea did not pay great attention. At times, it seemed we payed zero attention.

And that’s a bit of a problem.

As left back Emerson Palmieri told ESPN Brasil after Sunday’s 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford, in addition to striking it unlucky in front of goal, our lack of care and attention in allowing Manchester United some fantastic counter-attacking opportunities was a main reason for that horrendous scoreline.

“For 60, 65 minutes we had a good game. And then, the result, for me, doesn’t say what the match was.

“We had three, four chances to score. Two balls on the crossbar. At least one goal we had to score. We knew about their quick counter-attack. Of course, they also have their merit.

“But there’s also our lack of attention. Could have defended better, could have been more attentive.”

-Emerson; source: ESPN Brasil via Sport Witness

Emerson was denied his first Premier League goal by the width of the post, but was one of the few players to receive some individual post-match plaudits from the manager for his attacking forays. Defensively, Chelsea were a mess and Emerson was no exception, but in a way, we expected all that. Unfortunately, we could not turn our opportunities into goals and then things got out of hand late on.

But for the 25-year-old personally, the season’s starting on a pretty good note, especially as he now appears entrenched as the starter ahead of Marcos Alonso. It’s payoff for his dedication and hard work in training, so hopefully he can build on that for the future and help Chelsea navigate this transitional, youthful period.