‘Hugo Lloris is one of the best goalkeepers around’ – Harry Winks defends Tottenham captain after howler almost costs them against Southampton
Tottenham ace Harry Winks has hailed goalkeeper Hugo Lloris as ‘one of the best’ despite his latest blunder almost costing ten-man Spurs in their slim victory over Southampton on Saturday.
The Frenchman sparked memories of his howler in the World Cup final against Croatia as he allowed Danny Ings to fire the Saints level at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With Spurs leading from Tanguy Ndombele’s strike but down to ten men, Lloris attempted an unnecessary Cruyff turn on his goal-line.
But he embarrassingly left the ball behind, presenting Ings with the simplest of tasks to tap the ball in and make it 1-1.
It’s not the first time Lloris has been guilty of such a blunder.
The 32-year-old has made nine errors leading to goals in the Premier League since the start of the 2016/17 season – only Asmir Begovic has made more – and the skipper faced calls from some angry fans online to strip him of the armband after this later error.
But midfielder Winks defended his team-mate after the game, telling talkSPORT he more than made up for his moment of insanity with two fine saves in the second-half to ensure Spurs came away with three points after Harry Kane’s winning goal.
“Hugo is one of the best around and he showed that today with his saves after the mistake,” the England international told talkSPORT.
“It’s the way we play, we try to play it out from the back, keep the ball and build it up, and there are always going to be mistakes.
“But there’s no blame towards Hugo at all, because obviously afterwards he’s made two fantastic saves. That’s why he’s one of the best around.”
The win was a much need confidence boost ahead of Tuesday’s return of Champions League football, as they host German giants Bayern Munich at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
And Winks was happy the side proved their fight to supporters before the huge European clash.
“The whole character of the side was fantastic today,” the midfielder added.
“It was difficult to keep that discipline when you’re down to ten men and you can’t keep the ball as much as you like, but it’s a side of the game we needed to prove today and we showed that really well.
“We said before the game we wanted nothing less than three points today, and the character of the boys today was fantastic and that’s why we won the game.
“It was important to get the win today so we can kick start of bit of a winning run and we get into Tuesday with a bit of positively and confidence ready for the Champions League.”