The Sun

HUGO LLORIS has taken a swipe at Daniel Levy for his decision to hand out posh watches with the word ‘finalist’ engraved to Spurs players ahead of the 2019 Champions League final.

Frenchman Lloris, who made 447 appearances for the North Londoners, captained Spurs as they lost to Liverpool to finish runners-up in Europe’s elite club competition that year.

But four days before the showpiece Spurs chairman Levy decided to mark the occasion by giving each squad-member a luxury aviator wristwatch, with the support of a sponsor.

It was a well-meaning gesture but it was the message etched on the pricey gift that Lloris found tin-earned at the time and still does to this day.

Writing in his autobiography being serialised in The Guardian, World Cup winner Lloris said: “At first, we were excited to see the elegant boxes.

“Then we opened them and discovered that he’d had the back of each timepiece engraved with the player’s name and ‘Champions League Finalist 2019’.

“‘Finalist.’ Who does such a thing at a moment like this?

“I still haven’t got over it, and I’m not alone. If we’d won, he wouldn’t have asked for the watches back to have ‘winner’ engraved instead.

“I have considerable respect and esteem for the man and all he has done for the club as chairman – I got to know him – but there are things he is simply not sensitive to.

“As magnificent as the watch is, I have never worn it.

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“I would have preferred there to be nothing on it. With an engraving like that, Levy couldn’t have been surprised if we had been 1-0 down after a couple of minutes: so it was written.”

Spurs did indeed go down 1-0 inside two minutes thanks to a controversial penalty dispatched by Mo Salah, before Divock Origi doubled the lead late on.

The spot-kick, awarded when the ball hit Moussa Sissoko’s body and rebounded onto his hand, still narks Lloris.

That is because 24 hours after the final the rules were changed, meaning it would not have been given the following day.

While Lloris, who ended up winning nothing during his 12 years with Spurs, left that final disappointment questioning how much the club really wanted to be the best.

The 37-year-old, now with LAFC in the MLS, added: “At the post-match reception at the hotel, I had the impression that some people from the club and certain players were not sufficiently despondent at having lost.

“When I returned to my room on the night of the final, I think I had the same feeling as Mauricio (Pochettino, the manager at the time) and Harry (Kane): does the club really want to win?

“Real Madrid would never have celebrated a lost final, and we shouldn’t have either.”

Amazon documentary

Lloris also hit out at the subsequent decision “made without the consent either of the squad or the manager” to allow the Amazon cameras in to film their All or Nothing documentary.

The goalkeeper said the players had to be “careful all the time” with what they said and how they acted, adding that the show which earned the club £10million was a “constraint” in its filming and “had consequences”.

Pochettino’s successor Jose Mourinho ended up being the star of that documentary.

But it was the mind of a manager that came after the Special One who Lloris also gave a fascinating insight into - that of Antonio Conte.

The firebrand Italian was as “extreme and eruptive” behind closed doors as he appeared to be on the touchline, according to Lloris.

A man who struggled to contain his frustration when results started turning for him at Tottenham, whose strong personality meant wingers scared of him “preferred to play on the side of the pitch opposite the dugout”.

Conte took Spurs to the Champions League but it all unravelled for him two seasons ago when he left the club in March 2023 having metaphorically torched the club and players in an unforgettable post-match press conference at Southampton.

One particular defeat, in which Lloris did not even play, against Slovenian minnows Mura in the Uefa Conference League had Conte raging.

Lloris explained: “Even though I wasn’t playing, I was still entitled to his screams and reproaches, just like everyone else.

“After the defeat in Maribor, he had screamed: ‘Mura, Mura, who’s Mura?! We lost to Mura!’ I can still hear him.

“If a player needed a little love, he’d better not knock at Conte’s door. For Conte, trust is earned in training. He has no filter; he’s sincere, honest.”

TOTTENHAM right-back Pedro Porro left fans totally confused after revealing the bizarre way he sorts out his bins.

Spurs often ask their players random questions on their way into training as a form of social media content.

But Porro's latest remark on his way in left viewers utterly baffled.

The Tottenham players were asked to spill an interesting fact about themselves.

Various responses included Dominic Solanke revealing he could wiggle his ears and Djed Spence claiming he has six toes.

However, nobody confused Lilywhites supporters quite as much as Porro.

The Spaniard said: "I put the rubbish bin inside the rubbish bag instead of putting the bag inside the bin."

Porro made the comment in Spanish - and when he returned it was still unclear what he meant.

He translated it on his phone and still it made no sense.

Porro then pulled up a picture of a bin and insisted he puts it in a bag.

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He then returned for a second time with another fact, translating it on his phone once more.

It said: "I put liquid from the bat in the dishwasher."

But it was the comments about putting his bin in a bag that left those on social media completely turned around.

One replied: "I'm going to need answers from Pedro Porro."

Another joked: "Is Porro on drugs 😭😭😭."

A third said: "He tried to explain it 12 times I'm still so confused."

While a fourth responded: "Every time you see Pedro, it’s impossible not to love him even more."

Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham's transfer record.

But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.

Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane's back-up.

And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.

Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.

He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.

Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.

He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.

Maddison was handed Kane's No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.

But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness - managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England's final 26-man squad for the Euros.

Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.

But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.

Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.

He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.

Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.

His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou's best signing to date.

Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.

Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs' 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.

Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 - a deal that was made permanent the following season.

He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.

TOTTENHAM'S victory over Aston Villa on Sunday was their ninth win in their last eleven games in all competitions.

Much was made of the slip-ups against Brighton and Crystal Palace but there's no denying the broader picture is an increasingly optimistic one for Ange Postecoglou's side.

Furthermore, Spurs are currently the top scorers in the Premier League, a fact that Dream Team managers should not take lightly.

At the time of writing, the North Londoners are the only club with three representatives inside the top 15 midfielders in terms of overall points.

Brennan Johnson (£3.8m) and James Maddison (£4.6m) are ranked sixth and seventh in their position respectively with Dejan Kulusevski (£3.1m) nestled in 13th.

Some Dream Team bosses will be more than happy to select a couple of Spurs midfielders but many will see that as overkill and so it begs the question: which of the three is the best option?

Johnson has earned the most points (95) so far but Maddison is just two behind him at this stage.

The Wales international has been the most prominent goal threat; his close-range finish against Villa was his seventh of the season in all competitions.

Only Bryan Mbeumo (£4.6m) has scored more goals among midfield assets - Brentford's talisman has eight to his name.

Maddison's picture-perfect free-kick against Unai Emery's mob was just his third goal of the campaign but he's hot on Johnson's heels because he's a bonus point magnet.

Spurs' No10 has earned 21 bonus points already - only Savinho (£4.1m) boasts a higher tally (22) - while Johnson is yet to muster a single one!

Maddison has also registered five assists to Johnson's two.

However, gaffers who own the ex-Leicester playmaker will be concerned about minutes going forward.

Maddison was hooked at half time against West Ham in Gameweek 8, replaced after an hour against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 9, and given just eight minutes against Villa at the weekend.

From a Dream Team perspective, his owners have largely escaped punishment as the 27-year-old has pocketed enough points from his limited minutes to satisfy but whether he's able to maintain such a rate remains to be seen.

Maddison will probably start against Galatasaray in the Europa League on Thursday night but Postecoglou is leaning towards a more conservative midfield balance in league fixtures.

Maddison is also the most expensive Spurs midfielder by a relatively wide margin.

In contrast, Kulusevski is currently available for just £3.1m and has to be considered one of the best value-for-money selections in Dream Team this season.

The Sweden international is 20 points behind Maddison (and 22 shy of Johnson) but many Spurs fans will tell you he's been the best of the lot.

Previously a right winger, the ex-Juventus man has been reinvented as a No10 where his creative powers have come to the fore.

Kulusevski has provided six assists - only Bukayo Saka (£6.7m) has more among midfielders - and he's created twice as many big chances as Maddison.

In fact, Kulusevski's quality in central areas has contributed to Maddison's declining minutes.

In conclusion, Johnson is the best option for gaffers who simply want the biggest goal threat but Kulusevski is the smart, value-for-money option.

The latter is also the most in-form of the trio having taken more points from the last three games.

And Maddison, for all his quality, has to be considered a potential trap door given his high price and dwindling playing time.

NO wonder Ange Postecoglou had no worries about shotshy Dominic Solanke.

His £65million star striker had not had an effort on target for SIX matches before this game.

And then he beats the best goalkeeper in the world, twice, to complete Spurs’ latest turnaround.

It backed up just why his manager said his forward’s toothless run “did not matter” in the lead up to this game - and why Postecoglou’s belief in Solanke was so unshakeable.

Spurs had conceded first in a home Premier League game for the TWELFTH time in 2024 when Morgan Rogers exposed some poor set-piece defending in the first half.

That was unsurprisingly more than any other side, but just like they did against Brentford and West Ham in the last two games, Postecoglou’s men turned it around.

Brennan Johnson got the ball rolling by finishing off an exquisite cross from Son Heung-min, who then looked stunned and angry to be subbed before the hour.

The controversial change was vindicated though as Spurs ran out winners to ruin Unai Emery’s 53rd birthday, thanks to party-pooper Solanke.

His first strike against Emi Martinez - this week voted the world’s best goalkeeper for the second year running at the Ballon D’Or awards - was a clever dink; the second a tap-in.

It delivered, along with James Maddison’s delicious free-kick in injury time, Spurs’ ninth win in their last 11 games in all competitions, lifting them up to seventh and to within two points of the top four.

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You never would have seen it coming at half-time though.

Savvy Villa had frustrated their hosts by slowing the game down and reducing them to lame long shots, mainly from Rodrigo Bentancur.

Then when Spurs showed a vulnerability when defending set-pieces - as was a regular occurrence last season - Emery’s men pounced.

Rogers was Johnny on the spot when Guglielmo Vicario had been forced to parry away a goalbound header from his own defender Pedro Porro, firing home inside the six-yard box.

It was only the second goal conceded from set-pieces by Postecoglou’s side this season - the other being the one that lost them September’s North London derby.

But it will have done nothing to put off future opponents from sensing blood with Vicario in future.

Boos rang out at half-time from the home fans at their side’s display, which would have been punished further had Ollie Watkins not dragged a shot wide just before the break.

Postecoglou would have been well within his rights to give them the hairdryer treatment at the break to up the ante.

Whatever he did, Spurs came out for the second half a new team and within four minutes were on level terms.

Captain Son, back after a two-game absence with a hamstring issue, sent in a delicious cross that Johnson converted at the back post.

It was the Welshman’s first goal in five games after a red-hot streak of seven in seven for club and country.

Then came a moment you do not see too often as Son showed as near to dissenting anger towards his own manager as the mild-mannered South Korean is capable of.

Stunned when his number came up on 56 minutes, Son stood on the pitch with a ‘What, me?’ expression on his face.

Postecoglou waved his arm in ‘Yes you, you’re coming off’ motion and though the pair looked to have a civil exchange as Son trudged off, the 32-year-old’s frustration was obvious.

It was even more obvious when the cameras seemed to pick him saying ‘Why?’ along with an F-bomb after miserably taking his seat on the bench.

Spurs were then forced into another change when Cristian Romero, who had taken the armband from Son, injured himself when flying into a dangerous tackle on Rogers, for which he got booked.

It left Spurs without their first-choice centre-back pairing, with the watching Micky van de Ven already out injured.

But from there the hosts took control, with Solanke taking centre-stage.

Ben Davies, on from Romero, won a 50-50 to spark an attack which saw Kulusevski slip in Solanke who cleverly dinked the ball over Martinez.

Five minutes later he had a second, as Sarr latched onto Torres’ lax pass, fed Richarlison who teed up Solanke to tap home.

It was a brilliant, rapid-fire double to kill off the game, with the only downside was Richarlison injured himself when providing the assist and was forced off.

Birthday-boy Emery’s day was made even more miserable when sub Maddison sent a beautiful free-kick curling into the far corner during ten minutes of stoppage time.

SON HEUNG-MIN was left furious after being substituted early in the second half during Tottenham's 4-1 win over Aston Villa.

The Spurs captain, 32, returned from injury on Sunday after two weeks on the sideline.

And it was his superb cross which provided the equaliser for Brennan Johnson.

But just six minutes later manager Ange Postecoglou replaced him for Richarlison.

Son looked stunned as he realised it was his number being shown by the fourth official.

He trudged off and acknowledged Postecoglou as he made his way towards the bench.

But the South Korean forward then appeared to swear and kick off when he eventually sat down to watch the remainder of the match.

Reacting to the moment, one fan said: "Fans are as surprised as him."

Another added: "He couldn't believe it."

A third replied: "Bro was in the mood 😂."

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While a fourth responded: "Looks so surprised."

Villa forward Morgan Rogers also appeared surprised as he was also taken off in the second half by boss Unai Emery.

Rogers scored the opening goal of the game and was not happy to be substituted with the scores level.

Meanwhile, Postecoglou was proven right with his decision to take Son off as Spurs ended up winning 4-1 thanks to a late brace from Dominic Solanke and a James Maddison free-kick.

TOTTENHAM host Aston Villa in what should be a cracker of a match-up in the Premier League today.

The big news is James Maddison's absence from Ange Postecoglou's starting XI, with Pape Mate Sarr taking his place in midfield.

Villa can leap above Arsenal and Nottingham Forest into third with a win, but will be confident in doing so after walking away from North London with a 2-1 win last season.

CHELSEA fans hailed Eden Hazard's reaction after he was hilariously pranked with a Tottenham shirt by his barber.

Blues icon Hazard, 33, spent seven hugely successful years at Stamford Bridge between 2012 and 2019.

He scored 11 goals and assisted 85 in 352 appearances for the club, winning two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, as well as the FA Cup and League Cup.

Hazard left for Real Madrid five years ago - a move that failed desperately, largely due to persistent injuries.

But the Chelsea faithful have never held that against the Belgian, who also earned 126 caps and scored 33 goals for his country.

And it appears Hazard reciprocates the love between him and Blues supporters.

A-Star Barbers chose to prank him by putting the print of a Tottenham shirt on his apron cape.

And when it was put on him he was not having any of it.

Hazard said: "Bro, what are you doing man?"

The former Lille man then threw it off as the barber laughed at the brilliant response.

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Alongside the video, they added the caption: "Once a blue, always a blue 🔵."

Reacting to the clip, one fan said: "Don’t ever do that to our man 😂💙💙."

Another added: "Eden never disappoints us 😂❤️."

A third replied: "💙👏legend."

While a fourth said: "You don’t try that with a Chelsea legend man."

Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham's transfer record.

But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.

Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane's back-up.

And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.

Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.

He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.

Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.

He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.

Maddison was handed Kane's No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.

But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness - managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England's final 26-man squad for the Euros.

Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.

But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.

Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.

He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.

Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.

His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou's best signing to date.

Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.

Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs' 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.

Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 - a deal that was made permanent the following season.

He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.

Yes, I think it is the first time in many, many years that we've seen a coach saying, 'I'm gonna win something'. Before that it was always qualifying for the Champions League. So why not?

I mean, about the performances or about how the team plays, it's difficult to make an opinion. You know, the coaches, we're looking for a different thing but at the end of the day you have to win football games.

Your identity is very important because that way you have consistency. But in cup games, you need to win. I mean, I don't remember anyone saying, 'Yeah, we won the cup but we really played bad'.

So nobody will remember how they played at Coventry if they win the Carabao Cup. So it's a matter of getting through and winning the final. I don't remember anyone complaining about winning in a final playing badly.