Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris accepted responsibility for his part in Liverpool’s late winner which extended Spurs’ Premier League winless run to five matches.
From being spoken about as title contenders in a three-horse race in early February, Spurs are now embroiled in a fight for the top four as Arsenal could go above them into third with victory over Newcastle on Monday.
Lloris was as culpable as own-goal scorer Toby Alderweireld as he palmed Mohamed Salah’s 90th-minute header back into a crowded six-yard area to extend their run to one point from a possible 15 since their last win on February 10.
“When you are a goalkeeper you know the responsibility,” said the French World Cup winner.
“Of course you question yourself and the good thing there is another game in three days (at home to Crystal Palace).
“We need to switch off from today and prepare the next one. That is the best way to forget.
“I don’t really know what happened. I tried to catch the ball twice but unfortunately there was no bounce, it bounced straight on the shin of Toby and what happened happened.
“A bit of the luck was on the opponents’ side today. It is tough. We gave so much to come back in the game and had chances to score the second goal. It is sad for us.”
Despite the defeat Lloris saw positives in a second-half performance in which they could, and probably should, have scored more than the one from Lucas Moura to cancel out Roberto Firmino’s early opener.
“We struggled at first because of the pressure of the opponent but in the second half I think we came back with a great mentality,” he said.
“We were very positive and we controlled the game, we should have won the game probably, then we conceded a late goal in a very bad luck way.
“We have not been at the best in the last few games with results. In the second half we showed we are still in the race and are going to finish strong, that we believe in the way we play.
“We still have a chance to finish in the top four. It is in our hands.
“Even after the defeat we are still in position with seven games to play, the objective is to win all of them.
“Wednesday is a big moment for the club against a very good opponent and it is the moment to get back to winning ways and get the winning feeling back.
“It is a bit unlucky for us today given how we played against a title challenger.”
