Jermaine Jenas blames Hugo Lloris and Serge Aurier for Leipzig loss
According to BT Sport (h/t Football.London), former Tottenham Hotspur star Jermaine Jenas has accused the defensive duo of Hugo Lloris and Serge Aurier of letting down Jose Mourinho in Spurs’ 3-0 loss to Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League.
It ended a disappointing return to the competition for Tottenham, who made it all the way to the final last season before losing to Liverpool. Mourinho’s side went into the match trailing 1-0, courtesy of a Timo Werner penalty in the first leg.
A Marcel Sabitzer double before the half-hour mark effectively ended the contest before Emil Forsberg came off the bench to inflict more misery on us.
Contrary to the rest of the pundits who were critical of Mourinho’s tactics, Jenas jumped to the defense of the Tottenham boss. He went on to say that he believes Tottenham started off well and that the manager cannot be held responsible for certain occurrences on the pitch.
“If you’re the manager like Jose is, there are certain things that you just cannot legislate for.”
The captain, Marcel Sabitzer was the hero for Leipzig as he scored twice early on to put the tie beyond doubt. He proved to be a thorn on Tottenham’s right flank as Serge Aurier struggled to contain the wily Austrian.
Captain Hugo Lloris too made it easy for Sabitzer as he failed to keep both the player’s out when they looked saveable. Jenas did not hold back on his criticism of the keeper as he added the Frenchman’s errors and Aurier’s inability to respond to the second goal as crucial factors in the loss.
The former Spurs star also went on to admit that Mourinho has no choice but to ask his side to keep going, in spite of the nature of the defeat.
“The first one is definitely a goalkeeping mistake and Serge Aurier has to do much better on the second one. He (Mourinho) is just going to have to ask them to keep going.”
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It has been a week to forget for Lloris, who also made a mistake in the lead-up to Burnley’s goal at the weekend. It must not, however, be forgotten that it was the 33-year-old who kept us in the tie going into the second leg.
Had it not been for his heroics at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the tie would have been long gone even before the second leg.
