Hugo on big save from corner, midfielders react to Bournemouth win

It was a case of ‘job done’ in the eyes of the players after we secured our first Premier League victory at Wembley at the expense of AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.

Christian Eriksen found the breakthrough two minutes into the second half to give us a 1-0 triumph as we picked up from where we left off before the international break.

Goalkeeper and skipper Hugo Lloris made a lightning-fast save in the first period after a corner hit Eric Dier and headed for goal, but on the whole we looked comfortable.

Hugo and Christian, plus the impressive central midfield duo of Eric Dier and Harry Winks, all spoke to us afterwards to reflect on what transpired…

Hugo Lloris

Thoughts on the game
“We can question ourselves about the performance but the result is there and that’s the most important thing. It was important to start the month with three points and now we can enjoy some big games – we’ll be very motivated and play open games where the opponent is ready to come and play and be offensive. It was a tricky game but we stayed calm. In the first half it was a good attitude but not enough but in the second half it was much better, we increased our level and then we won by the only goal. We didn’t score the second goal but we got the three points.”

On his vital first-half save
“Everything went so quickly. I just saw it’s from Eric Dier – I think he wanted to make sure I wasn’t sleeping! That’s football. It’s about the reaction and then we’re lucky because there were no opponents around me. You have two options – foot or hand – but if you hesitate between both, you are dead! It’s the goalkeeper’s job and I’m just happy to save it.”

On Christian’s breakthrough
“We had to force them to make mistakes, like for the goal. Christian had a great finish. Bournemouth defended well, left no space and defended well and it was difficult to create space to move the ball quickly and penetrate in the box. In the second half, we had more space once we scored and we should have scored the second goal to be safer but listen, it’s our first home win in the Premier League and that’s the most important thing. We’ll enjoy that and now we turn our minds to the big game on Tuesday against Real Madrid. We’re looking forward to playing in the Bernabeu, it will be an exciting game and we’re very motivated to face one of the biggest teams in the world in a great stadium. We will be ready for that.”

Christian Eriksen

On the outcome of the game
“It was a very important win for us and all the people outside. It meant a lot, a first Premier League win at Wembley. It wasn’t the most beautiful game we’ve played but we have the three points and we’re all really happy about it. We’re still in it. We lost one against Chelsea that we shouldn’t have lost and in the games we’ve drawn we’ve had our chances but didn’t take them. We defended well when they had their chances.”

On the tactical switch at half-time
“We deserved the win, 100 per cent. We had chances, they had their opportunities in the first half, Hugo saved one and the one Sanchez blocked, those were their chances. We were better on the ball in the second half and won the ball back in better positions so the switches made a difference.”

On Hugo’s save in the first period
“That save kept us in the game and if they’d scored it would have been a different game, we would have had to stretch forward but we had the confidence to change in the second half and we did that. We had more chances to finish it off but we kept ourselves in the game and it’s another clean sheet.”

Eric Dier

On the match overall
“It was difficult. They made it hard for us, they sat back as we expected and they were well-organised to it was tough to break them down. For us, we controlled their counter-attack really well and we were well-organised in and out of possession. We were quite comfortable throughout, we just needed to break them down.”

On working with Harry Winks in central midfield
“I think we’ve got fantastic midfielders, fantastic players all over the pitch and as a team we have a very good understanding of each other. Me and Winksy are no different. We have a great understanding but I think those things just happen naturally really. It’s really enjoyable to play alongside him and I think we complement each other well, so it’s positive.”

Harry Winks

On how the game played out
“It was great to get the three points. It was a tough game, Bournemouth set up to make it difficult for us but we were very resilient, we played well and we’re happy to get the win in the end.”

Does this give us added momentum going to Real Madrid now?
“Definitely. It’s going to be an exciting game which everyone is looking forward to. We’ve got confidence going into it so there’s no reason why we can’t go there, put on a good performance and do well.”