Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has said he is proud of the club for sticking to their style and principles in Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal defeat to Chelsea.
Spurs were beaten 4-2 at Wembley — a record seventh consecutive FA Cup semifinal defeat — and Lloris said he felt Chelsea’s superior experience had told.
Willian twice gave Chelsea the lead, with a free kick and a penalty, but Harry Kane and Dele Alli scored equalisers before substitute Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic sealed victory for the Blues.
And Lloris told reporters: “It’s my fifth season for Tottenham and I can see the team is enjoying fighting and competing against the best teams.
“We all took responsibility together. You can win and lose in football but you must do it with your identity, and it was the case this time. That makes me proud.
“We played in the way we wanted to play, and that’s the most important thing. That’s why we have to keep our chins up, because we had a good performance and then it’s about details.”
Lloris said Chelsea were “used to winning trophies, and maybe they have more experience than us” and said that had made them “more clinical” on the day.
He added: “The game didn’t want to turn in our way because we could have deserved more — in terms of performance it was very good.
“I’m still thinking that we could have avoided the first two goals conceded — the free kick, obviously, and the penalty. I’m not sure it was a penalty.
“It was a crucial moment because it was just before half-time and in your mind, especially in Chelsea’s minds, they got an advantage.”
Spurs can avenge the defeat if they can overhaul the league leaders in the title race, with Chelsea four points in front with six games left.
Chelsea host Southampton on Tuesday, while Spurs travel across London to play Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Lloris said the semifinal defeat could have a psychological impact on the title race but added: “In football you need to believe because everything is possible and we don’t know what will happen in the next few weeks.
“It’s good experience for us and we will try our best until the end of the season in the league and try to put pressure on Chelsea.
“They are human. The only thing we can do it keep working hard and keep believing and play in the same way that we’ve played in the last few weeks.”
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