Davide Zappacosta made his Chelsea debut as sub in the 74th minute in Saturday's 2–1 win at Leicester.
It might have been a truly memorable debut but Zappacosta missed a superb opportunity to kill the game off which set-up a tense finale.
The Italian right wing-back,25, replaced Victor Moses at the King Power Stadium as the visitors sought to shut down the game after Jamie Vardy had halved the arrears.
It marked a good test for the Italian international defender who was up against the lively Demarai Gray.
England U21 international Gray has been desperate for more game-time with Leicester following his promising displays with the national team.
Gray, a half-time sub, was involved in helping Leicester win a penalty to pull themselves back into the game before Zappacosta came on.
But Zappacosta's first real action was at the other end, where he might have made an name for himself straight away.
Eden Hazard picked out Zappacosta 10 minutes from time but the right wing back blazed a low right-foot shot past the far post.
Boss Antonio Conte on the sidelines was clearly frustrated.
But Zappacosta was certainly comfortable in possession as he played keep ball with Hazard to run the clock down late on.
Chelsea fans cheered every touch and, from these early glimpses, the £22million deadline day signing from Torino looks a useful addition to the Blues' squad.
Gray had so little joy against the Italian the Foxes starlet even switched to the opposite flank.
But Zappacosta stuck to his task and showed a good engine and desire to push forward as he got into several promising positions in the home box.