FA Cup 2018: 3 things Chelsea did right in their 2-0 victory over Southampton 

#3 Keeping faith in Emerson Palmieri

Emerson has proven to be a handy replacement for Alonso

With Marcos Alonso saving a retrospective three-game suspension, Conte was forced to hand a starting debut to Emerson Palmieri as a direct replacement at left wing back in the victory at Turf Moor on Thursday.

He impressed with his direct runs and crosses and capped it off with an assist for Moses’ winner. But a cup semi-final is a different occasion, altogether, especially with the manager under pressure after a failed defence of the Premier League and a Champions League thrashing at the hands of Barcelona.

Like most managers, Conte would ideally have gone for experience by starting Davide Zappacosta at right wing-back and probably slotting Moses at left wing-back to make up for PFA Team of the Season member Alonso’s absence.

However, he banked on Emerson’s form and rewarded him for his display against the Clarets with another start. Once again, the Italian re-paid his manager’s faith with a decent, if not spectacular, performance.

He made dashes down the flank, taking Cedric Soares with him and allowing the likes of Hazard and Willian to exploit the space created by his movement.

He kept Chelsea’s attacks going with some crisp passes and also sent teasing crosses into the penalty area.

In addition, he was able to neutralize the dangerous Mario Lemina, who has the ability to run past defenders one by one when on the ball.

Though he may not have had enough game time to dump Alonso off his starting line-up, Emerson certainly proved that he is a more than reliable back-up and can be called in as a direct replacement should situations like suspension or injury to Alonso arise.