‘You have to be ready to fight’: Hugo Lloris criticises Tottenham for a lack of aggression in Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea but challenged team to turn tie around in second leg
- Hugo Lloris said Tottenham failed to show fighting spirit in the defeat to Chelsea
- Kai Havertz’s early strike and a Ben Davies own goal gave Chelsea a 2-0 win
- The goalkeeper blasted his side’s sluggish start to the Carabao Cup semi-final
- Spurs have it all to do in the second leg but Lloris said ‘anything can happen’
Hugo Lloris said Tottenham failed to show fighting spirit in their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea which left them on the brink of elimination from the Carabao Cup.
The Spurs captain was particularly scathing of the way Tottenham started the game, with Kai Havertz giving Chelsea the lead in only the fifth minute at Stamford Bridge after pouncing on a sloppy pass from Japhet Tanganga.
Things got worse later in the first half, with Ben Davies scoring an own goal after colliding with Tanganga.
Hugo Lloris (centre) has hit out at his side for not showing enough fight in their loss to Chelsea
Kai Havertz (left) gave Chelsae the lead in only the fifth minute after sloppy Spurs defending
‘After that game, there were some disappointments and also some regrets,’ Lloris told reporters.
‘The way we started the game is a bit frustrating. Because you are playing a semi-final. At least if you cannot play good football, you have to be ready to fight, compete and be more aggressive than the opponent.
‘The way we started the game allowed the opponent to believe and to put us in trouble. You know when there’s a lack of aggressiveness on the pitch, at some moment in the game you’re going to pay for it. Unfortunately it cost us the two goals.’
The goalkeeper pointed out that Chelsea are a formidable opponent but admitted his side should have performed better.
He said: ‘We cannot forget that in front of us is one of the greatest teams in Europe. They won the Champions League last season and they’re much in advance of us in terms of process. If we want to grow as a team, we need to learn from that type of performance.
Things got even worse for Spurs when defender Ben Davies sent the ball into his own net
‘The first half was the image of the lack of aggressiveness,’ said the Tottenham goalkeeper
‘There was something in the balance – you play a semi-final, there was expectation and unfortunately the first half has to be analysed by ourselves.’
Spurs lost to Chelsea in the semi-finals of the competition in 2019 after a penalty shootout at Stamford Bridge but at least this time they will be able to count upon their fans in next week’s second leg.
Striking a positive tone, Lloris said his side improved after the break and took solace from the fact they did not concede any more goals.
‘We know when you play two legs, the most important thing is that at the end of the first leg there is still a chance to go through,’ he added.
‘We didn’t concede the third goal, unfortunately we could not score that goal which would allow us to believe even more. We know in football you can change a result very quickly with good energy, a bit of luck, good discipline. We have time, we have one week.
Lloris challenged Spurs to turn the 2-0 deficit around in front of a full home crowd next week
‘The first half was the image of the lack of aggressiveness but in the second half we showed a good face – a lot of commitment from all the players. We took more risks, we created some good actions and at the end, it’s 2-0 down and there’s still one game to play.
‘We have to believe because in football anything can happen. With energy, with belief, with the help of our crowd, hopefully we’re going to deliver a great night.
‘There is still an FA Cup game [against Morecambe] this weekend but it’s not over. This is the message. We will need our fans behind us and we’ll have to play an amazing game to turn qualification on our side.’
Spurs coach Antonio Conte, who had an unhappy return to former club Chelsea, was also fiercely critical with his side after the defeat.
Coach Antonio Conte said Tottenham were a long way off the level they need to be
‘Chelsea are a really good and important team, they deserved to win. The transfer market can’t solve your situation, it can’t be the only solution because I think at the moment our situation is… in the last years the level of Tottenham has dropped, has dropped a lot.
‘Now we need to have patience and a lot of time and we will try to rebuild a good situation for Tottenham, now we are in the middle.
‘We have to be prepared to struggle in every game, to try to get three points.’