Why a good first touch is important

 To keep it really simple the first touch determines what I can do next. If I take it on one side of the defender I get to something and if I take it the other way, I get to do something else. The touch also either gives me more time or less time depending on the quality of it and the right touch also matters. If I take a bad touch I would naturally spend the next few seconds trying to fix the touch and get the ball under control. Whereas if my touch was good I can do other stuff like scan and take in information, and make the next move quicker which hopefully puts me one step ahead of the defender/opponent