[ad_pod ]

Frank Lampard's reign as Chelsea manager could not have got off to a much worse start last weekend.

The Blues lost their highly anticipated Premier League opener against Manchester United 4-0, with some worrying defending needing to be sorted as soon as possible.

However, it wasn't all doom and gloom. For 60 minutes of the game, the Stamford Bridge outfit were arguably the better team and had more chances. They regularly troubled the Red Devils' goal, and hit the woodwork twice in the first half.

Emerson was one of the players to strike the frame, and the performance of the left-back will have been one of the main positives that Lampard can take from the disappointing beginning to this new era.

Before the match, the question was whether Marcos Alonso or the Italian international would start but the latter got the nod and didn't look back. He proved to be a real menace in attack, and had three shots on target along with the effort that struck the bar. He also created a chance and rarely put a foot wrong with his 95% pass accuracy - none of the other 21 starters were able to beat that number.

Defensively, he was also adept, and it is hard to blame him for any of the four goals. Clearly, his strengths lie in attack, but that is not to say that he is a liability going the other way. Other than the four chances, Chelsea were rarely troubled - tt was just one of those days.

The Blues now head into their next game, which will be against Champions League winners Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup Final. This loss against United will have been a blow, but the 25-year-old defender's performance was a lonely plus point for the Blues and has set the standard of performance Emerson's team-mates need to match against the Reds.

[ad_pod ]