Hugo Lloris concedes Chelsea have psychological edge back over Tottenham in title race

Hugo Lloris has not given up on Tottenham winning the Premier League title but has conceded Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final victory could drive them to new heights.

The Blues suffered two defeats in quick succession – to Crystal Palace and Manchester United – to cut their lead at the top to only four points and give Tottenham renewed hope of usurping them as league leaders.

A third defeat, this time in the FA Cup to their nearest challengers, could have completely derailed Chelsea’s season but now their achievement in reaching the final could have an adverse effect.

Spurs could find themselves back to seven points behind by the time they play Crystal Palace on Wednesday, with Chelsea facing Southampton 24 hours earlier, but Lloris has urged his side to keep believing.

“We know that they have an advantage but we need to believe until the end,” Lloris said.

“We knew before that this game can have maybe an impact for the rest of the season.

“But in football you need to believe because everything is possible and we don't know what will happen in the next few weeks.

“They are human and that's the case for us. The only thing that we can do is keep working hard, keep believing and playing the same way that we play in the last few weeks.”

Defeat on Saturday now means Tottenham have now lost a record seven consecutive FA Cup semi-finals and only won two of the 10 games they have played at Wembley – which could be their new temporary home next season – since 2007.

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They have also only won two of eight league games against the top six so far and Lloris believes that experience is letting them down when it matters.

“I'm not sure but from the beginning we ran after the game, we ran after the score,” Lloris said.

“We played in the way we wanted to play, that's the most important thing. That's why we have to keep our chins up. We made a good performance. And then it is about details.

“Chelsea, they are used to winning trophies. It's a winning team. And maybe they have more experience than us.

“But we try to make a good balance. In the way we play, we try to push but it was not enough.”