Hugo Lloris: We all failed together - but Liverpool loss is part of Spurs' learning curve

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris believes Spurs’ young squad need more experience of playing in the biggest matches and the toughest stadiums if they are to compete for titles – and he feels the Europa League and FA Cup can help to provide that.

Second-placed Spurs went into the weekend with an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions, aiming to continue their pursuit of Premier League leaders Chelsea.

However, they put in a poor performance away against Liverpool on Saturday, with the match effectively over as a contest after they went 2-0 down inside the opening 18 minutes.

It is not the first time the Lilywhites have fallen flat away against a top-six rival.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have only suffered three top-flight defeats this season – the joint-lowest number in the division – but those losses have come away against Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.

Tottenham also fell 2-0 behind at Manchester City last month before escaping with a rather fortunate 2-2 draw, scoring with their only two shots on target.

Last season Spurs banked six points from their trips to their five biggest rivals, but this campaign they have only managed two – the draws at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the Etihad are their only positive results away to the big six.

“We need to learn about this game [at Anfield],” said Lloris. “There are a lot of things, especially the first half.

“My feeling is it’s not the first time we started the first half in this way, especially away – like at Manchester City or even Man United. We have done well [against the big teams] at White Hart Lane, and we need to keep that and improve a bit our away performances.

“Before thinking about the title we need to think about the teams behind us because they are all top clubs with top players and they are used to playing for the top four, for trophies.

“They have maybe more experience than us. Even if we had a good experience last season with the title race, it’s not enough.

“All the players talk about [winning trophies] in the media. Of course this is the next step for our young team but you cannot buy experience. You need to face that kind of situation to improve.

“Chelsea are in a comfortable situation but we still need to fight for the top four. We have a lot to win – to put this club consistently in the top four, and there are two more opportunities with the FA Cup and Europa League.

“I think we need to have ambitions in both competitions because it’s important to feel this pressure. We are young and we need to feel the pressure of the big games to improve, to make one step more.”

Tottenham are preparing to visit Belgian side Gent on Thursday in the first leg of their last-32 Europa League tie, and Lloris believes the youthful Spurs team need that European experience.

“We have plenty of young players with a lot of talent of course. But you need to live situations, to face situations, and the Europa League is a top competition.

“We would have preferred the Champions League but we need to enjoy this competition because we have a status – we are Tottenham, and we need to show that in every competition we are involved in.”

Lloris wants to see more basic effort from his team-mates in the biggest matches, having been disappointed with Spurs’ competitiveness at Anfield.

“In general in the changing room it was a big silence, it was a big disappointment,” he said. “We expected more from our performance because it was too poor in the first half to pretend to get something at Anfield.

“Liverpool were much better, especially in the first half. They put in more intensity, they were more aggressive than us. They won the game on the basics of football.

“It’s not about tactics, about technique. They were more hungry than us and we knew [what to expect], because it’s always the same with Liverpool, especially at Anfield. Against the top teams they play at a high intensity, they put on a lot of pressure in the middle of the pitch.

“But we failed all together. It’s not one area or one player. It’s the whole team unfortunately and we need to learn from this game. It’s difficult to explain, honestly, and we need to question ourselves about that.

“The season is still long, there are plenty of games ahead but we cannot fail in that kind of area of the game. The aggression has to be natural, especially for top games like this one.”

Follow Ben on Twitter @BenPearceSpurs and visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BenPearceSpurs/