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What's the story?
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has admitted that the north London outfit cannot compete with Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title, deeming the Reds and the Citizens to be the "real contenders" for the coveted prize.
In case you didn't know...
On Saturday, Tottenham managed a point against Premier League champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium after they came from behind with goals from Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura to commandeer a 2-2 result.
Spurs enjoyed one of their strongest seasons in years after they secured a place in the Champions League final and a top-four finish in the Premier League last term.
Mauricio Pochettino's men suffered the same number of defeats (13) as newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers last season but managed to qualify for Champions League football, following Arsenal's late collapses.
The heart of the matter
Despite a favourable start to the new campaign, Lloris has downplayed Spurs' chances of winning the title, and instead urged his team to improve their consistency by turning some of their soft losses into draws or wins.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, the Frenchman said,
"One thing that we try to improve this season: if you cannot win, it’s important to not lose the game, especially against an opponent like Manchester City.
"If you want to stay in contact with the best team in the Premier League, it’s important to get this feeling. There were some games that we lost [last term] that we should have drawn. We all know the difficulty of playing at City, so it’s a good feeling to build confidence.
"With humility, Liverpool and City are the real contenders. We’re going to try our best to challenge for top spot, but it’s difficult to find the consistency."
The goalkeeper went on to add,
"We just need to try to use the experience of the last few years in the best way and it’s about details — to not lose a game, especially a game you do not deserve to win. You draw, you take a point and it’s very good because your rivals share the point with you. Now it’s just to keep the consistency. Consistency is the key."
What's next?
Spurs will next take on Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday before they head to the Emirates for a much-awaited north London derby against Arsenal on 1st September.
