Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Tottenham fightback vs. Man City shows how far team has come - Lloris

MANCHESTER -- Tottenham's come-from-behind draw at Manchester City was proof of their character, according to Hugo Lloris, who says previous Spurs teams would have crumbled at the Etihad.

Leroy Sane and Kevin De Bruyne capitalised on dreadful mistakes from Lloris to give City a two-goal lead, but Dele Alli halved the deficit with his 11th league goal of the season and Son Heung-Min equalised moments after Kyle Walker had appeared to push a clean-through Raheem Sterling, leaving Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola incensed.

Lloris was part of the Tottenham teams that lost 6-0 and 4-1 at the Etihad and 5-1 at White Hart Lane before Mauricio Pochettino took charge and he believes Saturday's point was proof that Spurs are now made of sterner stuff.

"We talked with each other at the end of the game and it's a big change from the past," Lloris told reporters. "Maybe three years ago we would have lost and suffered a bad defeat especially after going 2-0.

"The first one is a bit unlucky, the second one was a mistake, my personal mistake, and maybe we would have given up. But not anymore. The last two or three seasons we've changed our mentality and we've shown it. Even on a bad day, it's a great point.

"City probably played their best game of the season so it's a very good point. Of course we are able to do better with the ball, without the ball. But today we won the point with the spirit and that's very important."

Tottenham's vice-captain Harry Kane agreed, adding: "A few seasons ago, it probably would have gone to 3-0. 4-0, and that would have been that. But we dug deep. We know it wasn't a good performance and we dug deep and came away with something.

"Two-nil down, not playing well then to find another couple of gears, speaks for itself," Kane added. "It's City away, we came away with a point not playing well. That shows we're a good team."

Before the game, all eyes were on Lloris' opposite number Claudio Bravo, City's goalkeeper who rarely makes a save, but it was the France captain who nearly cost his team with two errors in five minutes, first tearing out of area to leave Sane with an empty net before spilling a cross at De Bruyne's feet.

"It's football. We are in a position where a little mistake that can have a big consequence. It's not my first time and it will not be my last time. This is the responsibility of the keeper," Lloris said.

"Even after 2-0 down, I think I was still in the game, I was still alive like my teammates and I feel much better because we got a point at the end. If we'd lost then my feeling would have been different. But I'm very honest with myself. I don't allow myself to make mistakes and I will try to do better the next time.

"There is always part of luck in football. Bravo's proved he's one of the best keepers in the world with his national team, with Barcelona," Lloris continued. "It's his first season in English football.

"The only thing is that coming after Joe Hart is never easy. Joe Hart is a fantastic keeper, No. 1 for England, he made some great, great saves for Manchester City.

"But Bravo I'm sure will be decisive for City. It's just a question of time, I know as a keeper that sometimes you try to do your best, you want to do more to help the team. It can happen, but you need to stay calm with that, he's got a lot of experience, he's a great keeper and I'm not too worried for him."

Spurs will spend Sunday to Wednesday in Barcelona, where Pochettino owns a home, for warm weather training. Toby Alderweireld was replaced with a tight hamstring at City but the defender hopes for a short layoff, while the club insists Danny Rose is not seriously injured, despite leaving the Etihad with his knee in a brace.

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