OPINION
Hugo Lloris had a stinker against Liverpool. A routine header from Mohamed Salah caused him all sorts of problems in the 90th minute of the game with the score at 1-1. He fumbled it and the ball hit Toby Alderweireld and rolled back into the net. And, with that, Tottenham lost their third place spot in the league to Arsenal on Monday night. By the end of Wednesday night they could be out of the top four.
It’s tough to blame all of that on one player. But, this isn’t the first mistake Lloris has made all season and Match of the Day 2 pundit Jermaine Jenas believes Mauricio Pochettino should axe his captain and put Paulo Gazzaniga in his place against Crystal Palace.
Jenas said, “For every penalty save you have a Kieran Trippier backpass decision. For every first-half Dortmund away you get that [goal v Liverpool].”
We didn’t think Pochettino would drop Lloris, especially as it’s the first game in the new stadium, and talking in his pre-match press conference today he confirmed Lloris would start.
As quoted by Football.London Pochettino said, “He is my captain. He’s one of the best keepers in the world. There’s no doubt… There’s no doubt that Hugo is one of the best and he’s going to be tomorrow in the goal.
“It’s a situation that is so painful because I think we deserved more, but in that kind of situation, which happens in football, it’s only to be strong and back our player. I think Hugo is going to be, like always, great for us. He was great for us. He was so important in all that process in five years, and for sure he’s going to be one of the most important players for the future of the club too.”
As a player you’ll appreciate your manager having your back, but there will be a huge amount of pressure on Lloris in the new stadium on Wednesday.
All eyes will be on him after his recent blunder, and it won’t just be the pundits. Tottenham fans have been on his back this season and it’s now crunch time.
Tottenham could be out of the top-four when kick-off comes around and a win is a must or their season could be close to imploding. Truly great players thrive under the most extreme pressure and we’re hoping that Lloris can do the same tomorrow and remind everyone why Pochettino has so much faith in him.
At his best he’s one of the very best shot-stoppers in the world.
But we fear another blunder could cost Tottenham dearly and Pochettino’s faith in his skipper could backfire.