Draw a good result, insists Tottenham hero Lloris

The France international produced a string of saves in the second half - including a remarkable reaction stop to deny Javier Hernandez - as Mauricio Pochettino's side secured a draw in the Group E encounter at the BayArena.

Published : Oct 19, 2016 08:36 IST

Hugo Lloris applauds the Tottenham fans.
Hugo Lloris applauds the Tottenham fans.
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Hugo Lloris applauds the Tottenham fans.

Goalkeeping hero Hugo Lloris says Tottenham can be pleased with its display in the 0-0 Champions League draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

The France international produced a string of saves in the second half — including a remarkable reaction stop to deny Javier Hernandez - as Mauricio Pochettino's side secured a draw in the Group E encounter at the BayArena.

Spurs enjoyed the better of the first-half chances, with Dele Alli heading a promising opening wide before Vincent Janssen hit the crossbar, but Lloris was content to leave with a point after some sustained pressure from the home side in the second period.

"We can be pleased with a point," he told BT Sport. "We missed some good chances in the first half and at this level if you don't score then it's always going to be difficult.

"In the second half it changed, they pressed us and we struggled a bit. So a point is a good result. We were strong defensively, and the midfield was very strong. I think we can congratulate everybody, we can enjoy this point because it was a tough game today."

Lloris reacted brilliantly to stop Hernandez from tapping in from close range shortly after half-time, with replays showing that the fifth official was correct not to award Leverkusen a goal as the entirety of the ball had not crossed the line.

"Yes, that's a technology decision — you need a bit of luck in that type of situation and this time I saved it," Lloris said. 

"It's important, a key moment, but it's not the only one. I prefer to be positive because we made a good game all together, and we should have scored in the first half.

"We have a lot of respect for Leverkusen. They're one of the best teams in this group stage and like us they're used to running a lot and pressing a lot and it was a big battle."

Lloris is determined to challenge for three points in the return fixture at Wembley next month, especially given the disappointment of the team's 2-1 home defeat to Monaco on matchday one.

"In two weeks we'll be facing them again and we need to be ready," he added.

"It's true that the game against Monaco is still on our mind, and we want revenge for everybody, for the manager, the coaching staff and the fans - they deserve more than what they got against Monaco."

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