Hugo Lloris has hailed Tottenham Hotspur’s performance in their 2-0 victory over Manchester City and said hard work is behind the London’s club’s excellent start to the season.
Tottenham are the only unbeaten side in the Premier League after the opening seven fixtures following their triumph over City at White Hart Lane. The hosts fully deserved the three points on the back of a high-energy and fully-committed display and go into the international break just one point behind Pep Guardiola’s side, although Lloris believes they can still improve.
“Following last season, I think we are still learning, we are a young team, we have a lot of talent,” he said.
“We have some strong basics which help us to get confident in this type of game and I think we were rewarded because we worked so hard. Every day this gives us enjoyment.
“Of course it is easier to speak after a good performance and a good win but it is too early to speak about this season. There is still a lot of games to play and we are just focusing on the start which has been very good and after the international break we need to keep going, to keep working in the same way and we will see after half the season where we will be and what our ambitions are.”
Having finished last season with the best defence in the league, Tottenham have yet to concede a goal from open play and Lloris believes that is a testament to their organisation under Mauricio Pochettino. “It is our basics, to be strong at the back. It does not mean we are a defensive team,” he said.
“We try a lot and we take a lot of risks and we try to play as high as possible on the pitch. We try to put pressure on teams, especially in the first half – this is our football style. We try to have options, to sometimes play deeper and to counter attack. Football is always about spirit, about the team performance and this was perfect.
“As long as we keep the same mentality and spirit – we have ambition. In football you need respect for your opponents and that is why you need to keep working hard every day. We have a young team with a lot of talent but we need to make sure every day we are not changing our minds but are being the same. We are enjoying our time here.”