Clement: "This is the definition of Hugo Lloris"
Mon 05 September 2022, 18:45|
Tottenham Hotspur
Clement Lenglet revealed he was delighted to get a winning start on his full Spurs debut at the weekend - while paying tribute to his compatriot Hugo Lloris for helping us secure the three points against Fulham.
The French defender, on loan from Barcelona, made it into Antonio Conte’s starting XI for the Premier League clash with the Cottagers on Saturday and slotted straight into our back three, his composure and calmness making it look like he’d been with us for years.
Although having made his debut with a brief cameo here against Southampton, this was Clement’s first taste of action since that opening day fixture and admitted he enjoyed the occasion.
“I’m very happy because it’s a new challenge for me, a new competition, a new team, new stadium - everything was new,” said the 27-year-old. “I’m very happy to start and to win with my team-mates.”
In what was mostly a dominant display, we led 2-0 thanks to goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane, saw two goals ruled out for offside and created numerous other chances. But a late strike from Aleksandar Mitrovic meant we were under pressure in the closing stages and needed a stunning save from skipper Lloris to preserve the victory.
“It’s a big win because it’s a difficult opponent. We played a good game with a lot of intention to take possession, to try to put difficulty against this team, and we found a lot of solutions to create occasions to score goals. Maybe, we didn’t score a lot, but it’s not a problem because we won, and that’s most important,” added Clement, before heaping praise on his French colleague in goal for his late save.
“This is the definition of Hugo Lloris, no? He is always present when we have a bad moment or if we’re in difficulty. He showed all his quality in this save. We are all happy to have Hugo behind us.”
