Hugo Lloris claims Spurs are ready to challenge ‘title contenders’ Chelsea
Hugo Lloris has insisted that he and his Tottenham teammates are ready to test themselves against one of the best teams in the Premier League in Chelsea following their win over Southampton on opening day.
Tottenham produced a commanding performance on Saturday to come from a goal behind to brush the Saints aside 4-1.
It seemed as though the North Londoners had taken over from where they left off towards the end of last season as they barely conceded any chances to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men while creating plenty of their own.
Spurs also began last season with a promising win over Manchester City before the results quickly fell away under Nuno Espirito Santo, but Lloris admitted that the feeling around the club is different at the moment.
The Tottenham captain told Football.London: “Yeah but last season we started with three wins and three clean sheets. But with different feelings.
“I believe the work we’ve done the last eight months plus pre-season is giving us on the physical aspect and the tactical aspect a lot of guidance and a reference point.
“And then we need to increase – and this is down to the players – the mental aspect to become even more important competitive and to reduce the gap with the best teams in the country and in the Champions League the best teams in Europe.
“I believe we’re in the right way. But again, it’s easy to talk right now in front of you. The most important thing is to show it every time we have the possibility, every time we face an opponent. We have to build this confidence in the right way.”
Tottenham certainly have to deal with higher expectations this campaign, partly due to how much the club have strengthened their squad this summer.
When asked about the increased expectations, Lloris responded: “I don’t know. We’re just focused on our days, to be honest. I believe with the eight previous months and also the pre-season, it gives us a strong structure and the basics.
“We know each other well and there’s also the addition of quality players and international players, so obviously we’re going to try to be as competitive as we can.
“That’s our target, that’s the standard the club wants to reach and we’re going to push together. But I repeat: it’s just game by game.
“There’s a big challenge for us next week at Stamford Bridge and we’ll try in the same way to respect our philosophy and respect the way we want to play, and we want to compete.”
The goalkeeper admitted that Tottenham now want to test themselves at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to see how far they have progressed as a team.
When asked if he is looking forward to the London derby, the Frenchman said: “Yeah, obviously when you face that kind of opponent it’s a good moment to judge yourself.
“But again after two games, whatever is the result [next weekend] there will be plenty of games ahead of us.
“But it’s more that in this competitive way. we can confirm this good result and performance [against Southampton] and feel and show improvement compared to last season.
“Chelsea is a very strong team, very competitive, they will probably be a contender for the title and it’s good for us to go there and challenge them.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I get the feeling that Conte and the players are really looking forward to playing Chelsea after losing three times to the Blues last season fairly early into the Italian’s reign.
While the result on Sunday might not mean much in the context of a long season, the performance will certainly tell us how much Spurs have progressed, particularly given that Tuchel’s men proved far superior in those games last season.
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