‘Hurts me the most’: £13m man admits fears in Tottenham warning

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Hugo Lloris admits losing to Brighton ‘hurts me the most’ as the result could come back to cost Tottenham Hotspur qualification for the Champions League, via the Evening Standard.

Spurs spurned what proved to be a chance to go six points clear of Manchester United and Arsenal in the race for fourth-place in the Premier League table. Leandro Trossard struck in the 90th-minute on Saturday, before the Gunners went on to lose away to Southampton.

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Mikel Arteta’s side have now lost three on the spin, having also lost to Brighton before the Seagulls edged Tottenham. But Spurs have not punished their north London rivals as much as they possibly could have, having failed to strike a single shot on target at the weekend.

Arsenal can now pull level on points with Tottenham if they beat Chelsea in their game in hand on Wednesday. The Gunners can also push Manchester United further from the top-four with victory over the Old Trafford natives when they visit the Emirates this Saturday.

The sense of pressure in north London will flip if the Gunners overcome the Blues and Red Devils. Six points from six would put Arsenal above Tottenham before Antonio Conte’s side visit Brentford in the Saturday evening kick-off. But goal difference is still in Spurs’ favour.

Lloris admits Tottenham slip ‘hurts me the most’ amid fears over top-four finish

Lloris warns his Tottenham teammates that they cannot look too far ahead in the race for a top-four finish, though. The £13m Frenchman fears Spurs crumbling if they suffer further defeats, and rues his side letting their advantage slip after overcoming their early hurdles.

“We don’t have a cushion so we have to go on another run,” Lloris said. “But we must take it game by game because if we look too far forward, we can slip in other games.

“What hurts me the most is we have suffered so much and to arrive in this position, it is not the moment to throw away what we have built in the last few weeks.

“We received a lot of kicks during the season and it is not the time to give this boost to our rivals. We have a week to prepare for the next game, and I hope this defeat will help the team to finish stronger.”