Glenn Hoddle has praised Hugo Lloris for his performance in Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Tottenham were hoping for another Champions League win having beaten Marseille 2-0 last week.
Yet Spurs were instead by the same scoreline as they fell apart in the final minutes of Tuesday’s clash.
Paulinho’s header and a superb Arthur Gomes goal handed Sporting a 2-0 win, sending Tottenham back to London empty-handed.
Glenn Hoddle has praised Hugo Lloris
Few Tottenham players can really say they played well in Lisbon.
Spurs were flat going forward and weren’t even really all that deserving of a point at 0-0.
Questions over Antonio Conte’s European record will again be asked and the Italian has to find answers after this disappointing display.
Glenn Hoddle did manage to praise one Tottenham player though with Hugo Lloris impressing the Spurs legend.
Lloris made a string of saves to keep Tottenham in it at 0-0, denying Pedro Goncalves, Marcus Edwards and Pedro Porro before Paulinho nodded in the opener.
The Frenchman has a new backup this season after Fraser Forster’s arrival on a free transfer from Southampton.
Yet Lloris is in no danger of losing his spot in Conte’s side in this, his 11th season as a Tottenham player.
Harry Kane may be the big name but it’s Lloris who captains Tottenham and certainly stood up to be counted against Sporting.
Hoddle told BT Sport (13/09, 7:50pm) that he felt Lloris had a ‘very good game’ on Tuesday night and without Lloris making a number of saves, Tottenham could have been battered by Sporting.
“He’s had a very good game,” said Hoddle. “Without that, we’d have been on the end of a real thumping,” he added.
It’s great that Lloris, one of Tottenham’s experienced leaders, is stepping up in the big moments.
Yet Lloris ultimately needs more help from his teammates both in terms of the defence in front of him and the wider performance as a whole.
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