Hugo: 'We have to be very intelligent in our approach'
Wed 19 February 2020, 17:16|
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris believes we will have to be clever in how we attack both legs of our Champions League round of 16 clash with RB Leipzig.
Tonight, we head into the first of two games against the German outfit as we welcome them to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 8pm), however, Hugo knows all too well that with the nature of knockout European games, we will have to be wise in our approach to not just this evening’s clash, but also the return leg in Saxony on 10 March.
In our journey to the Final of last season’s competition, we saw the importance of being alive in each game of the knockout clashes. In our round of 16 meeting with Borussia Dortmund, even with a 3-0 lead from the first leg, Hugo was required to be on his guard in the reverse at Signal Iduna Park to help us power home to a 4-0 aggregate win. Then in both our quarter-final against Manchester City and semi-final against Ajax, we had to fight to the wire in both ties, eventually coming out on top on away goals in each of them.
There also remains the unpredictable nature of the Champions League, which is not summed up better than that run to Madrid in 2018/19.
We know the demand of the Champions League at this point is very high, it’s going to be very intense.
Tonight’s game is no different. This is Leipzig’s first knockout game in the competition. It’s their first game against us. It’s their first competitive game against an English side full-stop. So, what is our captain’s thinking ahead of another huge European night in N17?
“Leipzig, they are a team that is growing season by season and today they are in an amazing situation,” our number one said. “They can compete in the Champions League with very good quality and they are battling for the Bundesliga title. So, first, we have a lot of respect for this team.
“We know it will be tough and they will make it very difficult for us, so we have to put everything into our performance. We know the demand of the Champions League at this point is very high, it’s going to be very intense and we know that with two legs, we have to be very intelligent in our approach to the two games. And this first game becomes very important, especially with it being at home.”
