Lloris fears another Champions League final could be beyond Tottenham

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris does not think they can expect to reach another Champions League final soon following Saturday’s defeat to Liverpool.

Spurs were beaten 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano in their first appearance in European club football’s showpiece match, as the Reds became champions of the continent for the sixth time.

Mohamed Salah opened the scoring from the penalty spot inside two minutes before Divock Origi’s late strike condemned Spurs to defeat, despite Mauricio Pochettino’s side enjoying large spells of possession.

Lloris has now suggested it could be difficult for Spurs to get to this stage of the competition again.

“I don’t think Tottenham is the type of club to challenge for the Champions League every season, we have to be honest,” he said.

“But one thing is sure: we are ambitious, and we try to reduce the gap to the best teams in Europe, step by step.

“I think in three years we showed a lot of improvement, a lot of development in the right direction, probably with the new stadium it will bring fresh air and confidence towards the team, towards the club, towards the fans, and there is a lot of things to learn from this defeat. Now it’s up to us to get back into work and come back stronger next season.

The journey was incredible, the memories will live with us forever. It wasn’t to be this time, but we’re only just getting started.

Thank you for your incredible support, we hope you’re as proud as we are.

We are Tottenham, we will be back. pic.twitter.com/sIytWMPJLy

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 1, 2019

“It’s difficult to have the right judgement. The only thing is to stay positive and we can only be proud of what we have done this season. To bring the club into the Champions League final is already a big step.”

Salah scored after Moussa Sissoko was penalised for blocking Sadio Mane’s cross with his arm with barely 30 seconds of the match gone.

There was no VAR intervention despite some debate over whether the ball struck Sissoko clearly on his arm or his chest, but Lloris was not prepared to blame the officials.

“It’s part of football,” he said. “I think he took the decision very early, so I think he was sure. You have to accept that. But it was not easy for us to come back into the game, even if we tried to stick with the principle and we tried to play like we used to do.

“But we didn’t create too much, unfortunately. In the last 15 minutes, we tried to push by shooting from long distance, but it was not enough today.

“We don’t have to blame the referee. On the image, I think the ball touched probably the hand of Moussa but then it’s the perception of you, or the fans… there is nothing to say.”