Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been criticised for his role in Sporting Lisbon’s goal in the side’s 1-1 Champions League group stage draw on Wednesday night.
That is by talkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was speaking on the station following the week’s Champions League fixtures.
Spurs had to rely on a Rodrigo Bentancur equaliser with just ten minutes of normal time remaining to secure a point against the Portuguese side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the club sitting at the top of their Champions League group.
Former Spurs youth academy product Marcus Edwards had given the away side the lead in the first-half with a long range effort from well outside the box into Lloris’ bottom corner.
And Agbonlahor feels that the 35-year-old goalkeeper could have done better to react to the effort, and prevent Spurs from going a goal down at half-time.
“If you look at the goal for Sporting Lisbon, he’s got to do better,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.
“Lloris has got to do better.
“Honestly Ally [McCoist], if you are in that team at halftime you’re saying ‘come on keeper you’re killing us.’
“You’ve got to do better, look how far away he was!”
TIF Thoughts on Agbonlahor’s comments…
We feel that in this instance, the former Aston Villa striker is being particularly harsh on Lloris.
Whilst the shot is taken from a range in which the 2018 World Cup winner would have fancied his chances of saving, the effort is arrowed right into the bottom corner, and with the goalkeeper being slightly unsighted, it makes it extremely difficult for the 139-time France goalkeeper to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
Therefore, in this instance we have to disagree with Agbonlahor’s claims, even if Lloris himself may feel he could’ve got across to save the shot on another day.