BBC pundit Jermaine Jenas has claimed that Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino should axe goalkeeper Hugo Lloris after his display against Liverpool on Sunday.
Tottenham lost 2-1 after letting in a poor goal in the 90th minute. Following a soft header from Mohamed Salah, Lloris spilled the ball and it bounced back off an unfortunate Toby Alderweireld for an own goal.
Talking on Match of the Day 2 (BBC1, Sunday, 10.30pm), Jenas said that Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose had to take their share of the blame, but that the fumble from Lloris was “shocking”.
“That’s a shocker from Hugo Lloris,” Jenas said. “From a word class goalkeeper that’s just not acceptable. In a tough moment, chasing top four, they need better from their captain.
“I think Mauricio Pochettino has a decision to make. For every penalty save you have a Kieran Trippier backpass decision. For every first-half Dortmund away you get that.
“Every time I watch Gazzaniga he is playing well and he must be wondering when he’s going to get his opportunity. I think he should… A decision has to be made now with seven games to go.”
OPINION
We’ve been saying for a while that Lloris should make way for Gazzaniga. But, like Jenas says, Lloris just seems to do enough to retain his place. This should be the tipping point but we don’t think it will be. Dropping your keeper is a huge statement, much bigger than just dropping an outfield player, and Pochettino hasn’t shown any signs of wanting to change his number one. Is Lloris good enough for a proper title challenge, though, presuming that Daniel Levy is going to invest over the summer? We don’t think so. Goalkeepers are going to make mistakes. Even Ederson and Alisson have made howlers this season. But it comes down to the frequency. Lloris makes too many and it’s why he’s come under fire from Tottenham fans this season. There was another incident from the Liverpool game, where Alderweireld had an easy backpass to make but chose to kick the ball out of play instead. It shows that players don’t have total trust in Lloris either and that’s always fatal for a team.