HUGO FEARS FOR SPURS RECOVERY
HUGO lloris fears his Tottenham side have ruined their recent recovery under Antonio Conte.
There was something very Spursy indeed about this defeat. Conte’s men had confidently won their four previous games by a combined scoreline of 14-2 and had been a joy to watch in recent weeks.
But this was desperate stuff, with not a single shot on target in the whole 90 minutes before Leandro Trossard’s last minute winner.
And even though they remain in pole position for that fourth spot thanks to Arsenal’s 1-0 loss at Southampton, Lloris was hurt and angry with this meek surrender.
Spurs’ captain fumed: “We should have done better. Especially in the context of the game as we knew what we were playing for before the game, but for different reasons we couldn’t get the result we wanted.
“It can happen that you have a bad day but the biggest regret is if you cannot win, then make sure you don’t lose, especially in the 90th minute.
“It’s too late now, we have to look forward to the next game.
“What hurts me the most is, we have suffered so much, and to arrive in this position, it is not the moment to throw it away. We received a lot of kicks during the season and it is not the time to give this boost to our rivals.”
Tottenham have a London derby at Brentford on Saturday and Lloris wants this to serve as a wake-up call.
The French goalkeeper said: “Mentally, we have to increase the level of focus. Sometimes you can have a lack of energy for various reasons, but the focus is so important. Look at how we conceded the goal, it is all about focus and concentration. It is never too late to learn.
“I hope this defeat will help the team to finish stronger.
“It is going to be a big battle until the final game. It’s the same for all the challengers for the top four.”
Spurs were simply off the pace with Trossard deservedly winning it for Brighton after waltzing into the area and finishing well late on.
It was a defensive weakness that followed a game lacking in the attacking nouse they have found of late.
Harry Kane, in particular, struggled to have any bearing in one of his worst displays in months and has now not scored in four club games.
But substitute Lucas Moura, who did at least offer some moments of attacking quality, said: “There is no time to cry, let’s go for the next game.
“The top four is still possible and it is our objective. We can’t lose our minds now because we played really well the last few games.
Fight
“We need to fight, we need to work hard. We are still there, we are in fourth place,
“Everyone was disappointed because we knew this game was important. It’s football, it’s Premier League. We cannot drop our intensity or our concentration. We did it in this game and we lost.”
Meanwhile, Trossard has hinted he wants to sign a Brighton contract extension.
The Belgian claims he was misquoted when suggesting on international duty he was ready to “listen to offers”.
The midfielder (27) said: “I think my comment was taken out of context. I didn’t say I would listen to offers, I said ‘you never know what might happen in football’.” TOTTENHAM (3-4-3): Lloris 6; Romero 6, Dier 6, Davies 6; Emerson 5, Bentancur 5 (Winks 72), Hojbjerg 6, Reguilon 6; Kulusevski 5 (MOURA 64, 6), Kane 5, Son 6 (Bergwijn 88). Subs: Gollini, Sanchez, Rodon, Sessegnon, White, Lavinier. BRIGHTON (3-5-2): Sanchez 6; Veltman 7, Dunk 7, Cucurella 7; Lamptey 7 (March 82), Gross 7, Bissouma 8, Caicedo 7 (Lallana 77), TROSSARD 8; Mwepu 5 (Welbeck 46, 6), MacAllister 6. Subs: Steele, Webster, Maupay, Offiah, Ferguson, Sarmiento.
REFEREE: Craig Pawson 7