Spurs star Lloris focused after Champions League error

Hugo Lloris insisted he is focused on football after gifting Barcelona the lead in Tottenham’s Champions League defeat as he returned to the line-up following a drink-driving offence.

Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris was given a 20-month driving ban and fined £50,000 after pleading guilty to drink-driving, having been stopped in his Porsche Panamera by police on August 24.

Lloris – who helped France to World Cup glory in Russia – then suffered a thigh injury and only returned to Tottenham’s starting XI for Wednesday’s showdown at Wembley, where his error contributed to Spurs’ downfall.

Reflecting on his performance and off-field issues, Lloris said: “A few things have happened in my private life but the most important thing is to stay focused on your job. I was unfortunately injured and I tried my best to be back as soon as possible and as strong as possible.

“It’s not easy to be back in this type of game without a game before but I tried my best and the most important for me is to be back and then build confidence and be back at my level. The most important is to be back in the competition and then repeat and repeat games to be at 100 per cent.

“It’s a good feeling to be back with the team again. Obviously, I expected a better game but it’s Barcelona in front of us and we can feel they are one step over us but we can be proud of the performance because we did our best, especially in the second-half. We increased our level and we were close to being back to 3-3 and finally we lost 4-2 but the most important is the mentality that we put, especially in the second-half.

“We played our football but then in front of us, yeah, it’s one of the best teams in the world. With [Leo] Messi at this level, it’s very complicated for us.”