Spurs boss Pochettino takes the blame for Lloris ‘Cruyff-Turn mistake’ vs Southampton

Mauricio Pochettino believes his demands on Hugo Lloris were to blame for the goalkeeper’s error during Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.

Having already been under pressure after a poor run of results – including exiting the League Cup against Colchester United – Spurs had to dig deep to pick up three points against the Saints after Serge Aurier was sent off.

How bad was Lloris’ error? Five things to know…

• Spurs battled to a 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.
• That was just their second victory in eight games across all competitions.
• But they had to work hard for the points after Aurier was sent off on 31 minutes.
• Just minutes after that, Saints levelled after Lloris tried to turn away from Danny Ings in his own box.
• Harry Kane restored Spurs’ lead shortly after and Pochettino has taken the hit for Lloris’ mistake.

Just a few minutes after that red card, things got even more difficult as Southampton equalised thanks to a terrible error from Lloris, who tried to turn on the ball in front of his own goal, only to be tackled by Danny Ings, who levelled the scores.

But Harry Kane restored Spurs’ lead just before half time and Pochettino’s side held out to gain a valuable three points.

Rather than level the blame at his goalkeeper, Pochettino is adamant the mistake was made as a result of his demands to play out from the back.

“In this moment, it was tough, with the sending off and then we conceded in those circumstances,” Pochettino responded when asked about that difficult spell of the match.

“You don’t need to blame Hugo, blame me because I demand him to play in that way. Of course, this situation can happen, but I think the team showed unbelievable spirit after that. A few situations that could be a tough impact in a negative way today we showed an amazing spirit and of course helping our fans, who were amazing.

“I am happy, so happy because of the players, because of the fans and the staff because they deserve to be in a different situation to the one we’ve been living in in the past few weeks for sure.”

Pochettino unsurprised by Lloris recovery

Despite his mistake, Lloris went on to play a key role in Spurs’ win, making a number of important saves in the second half as the Lilywhites climbed to fourth in the Premier League table.

Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.

But Pochettino wasn’t surprised by the Frenchman’s mental fortitude and believes his mental strength has helped him to maintain his place among the best goalkeepers in world football.

“I am not surprised, we are talking about if not the best, the (top) three or five goalkeepers in the world,” Pochettino said.

“I don’t want anyone to blame him, in this action I want the blame because I demand him to do what he was doing. He is so strong mentally and of course, showed that he wasn’t affected by this situation.”