West Ham defender Emerson Palmieri came under fire from both Joe and Carlton Cole during the FCSB clash.
The £15m summer signing ended up on the scoresheet as the Hammers recorded a 3-1 victory but it was a major struggle for the east London outfit, especially in the first period.
The Romanian visitors opened the scoring in the 34th minute through Andrei Cordea as he ghosted in at the back post unbeknownst to Emerson who has been criticised for his part in the goal.
In the second period, the Irons managed to roar back with the Brazilian putting David Moyes’ side in front following Jarrod Bowen’s penalty while Michail Antonio sealed the victory but at half-time the two former West Ham players called into question Emerson’s defensive acumen.
Speaking on BT Sport Carlton said: “This is schoolboy stuff. He doesn’t even look once.”
His namesake, Joe, added: “No he doesn’t. You want a player in this position to be a what-if player.
“You’ve got to get your body shape right and look over your shoulder to see where the attacker is, and that summed up the night for me.”
With Aaron Cresswell currently on the injury list, Emerson is the first choice on the left-hand side of the Hammers’ defence but with an alarming performance particularly in the first 45 on Thursday he could quickly be giving the spot back.
No game this weekend allows further time for the 28-year-old to settle in at Stratford and considering Emerson has played over 100 times in Europe’s top five leagues there is the experience there to become a mainstay in Moyes’ team.
