Emerson – like the entirety of the Claret and Blue Army – was really put through the wringer in Saturday's 2-1 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The West Ham United No33 was at the centre of most of the major talking points on a dramatic afternoon in the West Midlands.
First, he was the unfortunate player to concede a first-half penalty, when his sliding foul on Rayan Aït-Nouri gave Pablo Sarabia the opportunity to open the scoring from the spot.
Then, after the break and having moved further forward following Jarrod Bowen’s injury, he had a goal disallowed for a clip on Nélson Semedo’s heels as he headed what he thought was an equaliser.
But he did not allow his frustrations to take over, and provided the cross which Max Kilman handled and allowed Lucas Paquetá to level from 12 yards with 18 minutes to play.
The Irons then won the contest thanks to James Ward-Prowse’s strike direct from a corner – but only after Kilman had an even later header ruled out by VAR.
For Emerson, it all added up to a breathless 90 minutes.
“I had so many emotions!” he smiled. “It was a big match, for me especially. Obviously there was the penalty [on Aït-Nouri] – I don’t know if it was a penalty or not – I’ve not seen the action, but it was a good match for everyone.
“We didn’t start well with the ball, or without the ball, but in the second half we showed our strength.
“Everyone wanted to show our mentality in the second half, me included. When we came back in at half-time, we said in the dressing room that we can’t lose this game.
“We showed – not just me, but everyone – that we did very well. We scored the two goals and won the game.”
Emerson was key to the Hammers’ comeback, pinching possession in the Wolves’ penalty area before winning the spot-kick which Paquetá put away.
The Italy international spoke of the relief he felt that he could contribute after the earlier incident.
“When I saw their defenders just start to pass the ball, I went just to press and take the ball,” he explained. “I took it and crossed with my right foot, and the ball went to the hand [of Kilman].
“I just prayed that it was a penalty, and it was. Paquetá scored and it was a nice feeling.”
Then Ward-Prowse took over with his outrageous goal, and Emerson admitted he could not quite believe his eyes.
Now he says the Hammers must take the belief garnered from this win, and Tuesday’s comeback draw with Tottenham Hotspur, into the remainder of the campaign.
“It was unbelievable for Prowsey,” he added. “It’s the first time I’ve seen it in my career! We know his quality and it was a golazo.
“We need to believe, we need to dream. Of course we have six games to go and we need to play like that in the second half.
“Thursday’s game at Bayer Leverkusen is the kind of game that every player likes to play in. It’s a big game. We are here, we have arrived in the quarter-final, so we need to believe and we have all the qualities to pass to the semi-finals.”
