Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has blamed a lack of "mental freshness" for his recent costly errors, which he puts down to France's run to the World Cup final.
Lloris played in six of France's seven matches in Qatar, including a full part in their 3-3 final draw against Argentina after extra time that ended in a 4-2 defeat on penalties.
The 36-year-old, who has since called time on his international career, returned to club action with Spurs on January 1 and has made a spate of errors in his four games since.
He was beaten too easily by Riyad Mahrez in Spurs' 4-2 collapse at Manchester City on Thursday, having also been at fault for goals against Aston Villa and Arsenal.
Indeed, his four errors leading to goals – as defined by Opta – are more than those of any other goalkeeper across Europe's top five leagues in all competitions this season.
On the back of a tough month for club and country, Lloris accepts the criticism he is facing.
"I can't complain. You're a professional and you just follow a rhythm," he told the Evening Standard.
"When you're involved with the national team and you go until the last day of the World Cup, you come back and miss mental freshness. But you need to get back on track.
"When you look at the Arsenal goal, I can be in a good position, but the deflection hit the ball on my chest and with the spin it goes over [the line].
"It's something that even if I wanted to do on purpose, I can't. Even on Thursday, when you look at the third [City] goal, a deflection makes the ball go over my knee."
After conceding four second-half goals against City, Tottenham have now conceded 31 goals after 20 Premier League games – their highest tally since the 2007-08 season (36).
Spurs have lost three of their past four league games ahead of Monday's visit to Fulham and are five points off the top four, having played a game more than the sides above them.
Despite crumbling against City, though, Lloris insists his side do not collectively have a mentality issue.
"When you look at the guys working every day, we can't blame anyone," he said. "We have probably lacked consistency in our performances.
"I believe we struggle a bit to play 90 to 95 minutes at our best, things we were able to do last season, especially in the last two to three months.
"But the most important period is ahead of us: February, March, April and May is where you play for everything, and it’s important going forward to get our level back."
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect
Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.
Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.
The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.
Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three.
In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.
"In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."
Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club.
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
