Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has admitted that his side's 4-2 defeat to Chelsea in the semi-finals of the FA Cup may have given the Blues a boost ahead of the Premier League title run-in.
Antonio Conte's side had been beginning to falter in recent weeks, with defeats to Crystal Palace and Manchester United in April enabling Spurs to close the gap at the top of the table from 10 points to four.
That gap could grow back to seven by the time Tottenham are next in action, with Chelsea taking on Southampton on Tuesday night, but Lloris insists that his side will not give up hope of catching their London rivals.
"We know that they have an advantage but we need to believe until the end. We knew before that this game can have maybe an impact for the rest of the season. But in football you need to believe because everything is possible and we don't know what will happen in the next few weeks," he told reporters.
"They are human and that's the case for us. The only thing that we can do is keep working hard, keep believing and playing the same way that we play in the last few weeks. From the beginning we ran after the game, we ran after the score.
"We played in the way we wanted to play, that's the most important thing. That's why we have to keep our chins up. We made a good performance. And then it is about details. Chelsea, they are used to winning trophies. It's a winning team. And maybe they have more experience than us. But we try to make a good balance. In the way we play, we try to push but it was not enough."
Tottenham's next match comes against in-form Palace on Wednesday.
Barney Corkhill
