Hugo Lloris said Tottenham paid the price for allowing Cristiano Ronaldo too much freedom in Manchester United's thrilling 3-2 win on Saturday.
Tottenham's top-four hopes were dented by Ronaldo's hat-trick, despite Antonio Conte's side twice coming from behind to level at Old Trafford.
Spurs goalkeeper and captain Lloris said: “We know at this level it’s all about details. Ronaldo also helped a lot to get United the result.
“Ronaldo was at his best, very aggressive in the box. It’s difficult to control him, but when you concede set-pieces you need to look for that.
“The second goal was from a cross and we could have defended it a bit better. For the first goal, when you give him a little bit of space, he can do what he did.
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“It’s painful, because we felt we deserved better. But in football you always get what you deserve and we now need to focus on next week.”
Ronaldo cut a determined figure on Saturday following recent speculation over his long-term future at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese legend missed the 4-1 Manchester derby mauling at City last weekend due to a hip flexor problem, but was back to his best against Spurs on home turf.
Roy Keane believes Ronaldo looked "angry" and channelled his emotions into a performance which kept United's hopes of a top-four finish alive.
"That’s where United are at – the quality of both teams wasn’t great – but it was entertaining and Ronaldo stepped up to the plate,” former United captain Keane told Sky Sports.
“He looked angry today, a lot of aggression, he’s obviously been upset by something, but he’s shown today what we’ve seen over the years.
“He’s brilliant, he’s a genius, the three goals were fantastic, five touches in total, he brings so much to this team.
“Why people think he can’t play every week or value [him]. We’ve seen it today.”
While Ronaldo is top of United's scoring charts this term, another former club captain, Gary Neville, says the Red Devils still face a big decision over the veteran's future this summer.
Mirror Football reported in February that United will not stop Ronaldo leaving if he wants to force an exit at the end of the season, despite his contract running until summer 2023, when his contract expires.
And Neville told Sky Sports: "There's this looming decision at the end of the season. Is Cristiano Ronaldo going to be at Manchester United at the end of the season? Will Manchester United keep him?
"It's not in their gift, Ronaldo made that decision, he's got another year left on his contract, it's whether he wants to be here.
"Whether it's the 'project' that some players like to say he believes in and is enjoying.
"His greatness and wants his career to be enjoyable, he's demanding, he's demanding, he wants to win every game. Obviously there's elements he can't do, I've contributed to that in this studio.
"If Man United want to be a high-pressing team he’s probably not your man but it’s his decision whether he stays at Manchester United, not the other way round."
