Michael Essien was on top of his game when his side Persib Bandung were handed a 2-0 defeat by Bali United in the opening game of the Liga 1 tournament.

Essien who was introduced in the second half took charge of the midfield by swinging a lot of long passes to his teammates, yet they wasted the opportunities.

The former Chelsea midfielder, also won most of the 50-50 challenges he went for to stabilise Persib Bandung midfield which was shaky in the first half.