Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris blames lack of mental freshness for howlers vs Arsenal and Manchester City
Hugo Lloris has come under the scanner for a goal each in Tottenham Hotspur’s back-to-back losses against Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League this month.
Bukayo Saka’s cross somehow found its way into the net despite being hit from a very tough angle. The France international should have saved it, but it somehow deflected off him and went into the net.
After the 2-0 loss, Spurs went up against Manchester City at the Etihad and took a 2-0 lead. No blame can be attached to the Spurs goalkeeper for the Cityzens’ first two goals in the second half.
However, Riyad Mahrez’s first goal of the game seemed to have very easily beaten him at his near post. On close analysis, it was clear that the ball came off Matt Doherty’s foot and distracted Lloris.
City went on to win 4-2. Speaking to Standard Sport following his recent mishaps on the pitch for the Lilywhites, Lloris said that a lack of freshness after being put through the wringer with France at the 2022 FIFA World Cup doesn’t help his case.
“I can’t complain. You’re a professional and you just follow a rhythm. But obviously when you’re involved with the national team and you go until the last day of the World Cup, you come back and miss mental freshness. But you need to get back on track and help your team.”
“When you look at the Arsenal goal, I can be in a good position but the deflection hit the ball on my chest and with the spin it goes over [the line]. It’s something that even if I wanted to do on purpose, I can’t. Even last night, when you look at the third [City] goal, a deflection makes the ball go over my knee.”
Not to diminish the difficulty of being a goalkeeper, but it is certainly not as physically taxing as playing in the outfield positions. Lloris, 36, has been around for a long, long time.
He would know better than most how to navigate through congested fixture schedules without letting the standards drop. Lloris has, after all, captained France to back-to-back FIFA World Cup finals.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
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- Antonio Conte warns Tottenham Hotspur they could ‘regret’ letting him leave as contract saga goes on
Lloris has made some errors this season, but he can’t really be faulted for anything that happened against Arsenal and Manchester City. That is majorly down to luck. He is, however, in the twilight years of his playing career and needs to be replaced as soon as possible.
