Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte believes his team’s 1-0 win at Fulham this Monday was ‘important’ for Hugo Lloris. The goalkeeper has come under fire for his recent displays.
Spurs sealed a narrow win at Craven Cottage through Harry Kane’s 266th goal for the club. He lashed home into the bottom corner from just outside the area in the first minute of first-half stoppage-time. It was also the striker’s 16th goal in the Premier League this term so far.
Yet the win also only returned Tottenham’s second clean sheet since they shut Everton out on October 15. Across the north London team’s 10 top-flight matches in between they had only denied Crystal Palace in a 4-0 win on January 4. They also let in 21 goals to 17 scored.
Carragher has urged Tottenham to axe Lloris after an error-strewn run of games
Errors by Lloris have also cost Tottenham points in recent games, leading to calls for Conte to axe the 36-year-old. Gary Neville branded the Frenchman’s flap against Arsenal which let Bukayo Saka score as ‘just so poor’. While Jamie Carragher has dubbed Lloris a ‘liability’.
Carragher added that Tottenham ‘need to change’ their goalkeeper after Lloris was at fault for Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez’s goals against Manchester City. Tottenham lost 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium last Thursday despite Conte’s team going into half-time with a 2-0 lead.
Lloris was also at fault for Aston Villa’s opening goal as Unai Emery’s team won 2-0 on New Year’s Day. The Spurs skipper spilt Douglas Luiz’s long-range attempt to Ollie Watkins, who squared for Emiliano Buendia to score. He has conceded 29 goals in 20 games this season.
Over his 20 appearances, Lloris has also committed four errors leading to a goal. No other Premier League player has committed more than two so far over 2022/23, per SofaScore.
The £110k-a-week stopper also admitted to the Evening Standard recently that he is short of ‘mental freshness’. Lloris has produced an error-strewn run of displays with Spurs since losing the World Cup final with France on penalties against Argentina as Les Bleus’ captain.
Conte details the importance of Lloris now keeping a clean sheet against Fulham
Lloris has now retired from international football after 145 caps over a 14-year career that saw him win the 2018 World Cup. And Conte believes Lloris keeping a clean sheet against Fulham was important for Tottenham’s £13m signing from Ligue 1 side Lyon back in 2012.
“A clean sheet and had a good answer from my players because during the week, we spoke about the difference in comparison to last season – not the goals we are looking to achieve, but especially for the goals we’ve conceded,” Conte told BBC Sport.
“We conceded a lot of goals compared to last season. For this reason, we have to try and improve today to finish the game with a clean sheet. It was important for Hugo Lloris and we showed great solidity in the second half.
“We tried to get a chance but we didn’t take an important risk and for this reason, I am really happy because this win is important for the confidence for our heads and minds.”
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