Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham match report: Igor Tudor puts himself in the firing line

Tottenham’s Champions League hopes are left hanging by a thread after a chaotic first half in Madrid sees Atletico take a three-goal advantage to North London.

The Metropolitano Stadium did not bring any good fortune to Tottenham Hotspur on their return there for the first time since their Champions League final defeat to Liverpool almost seven years ago, as Igor Tudor’s side produced a night to forget in the Spanish capital.

And just when you think a club of Tottenham’s stature, already battling relegation domestically, cannot stoop any lower, they somehow found a way to do exactly that by conceding five goals in a Champions League knockout tie.

​In a move that fans had been demanding for weeks, Igor Tudor finally opted to drop Guglielmo Vicario; despite leading the group stages in clean sheets, the Italian had been heavily criticized for his domestic form, leading to a high-stakes debut for 22-year-old Antonin Kinsky.

First half: Atletico Madrid 4-1 Tottenham

Kinsky’s Champions League debut quickly turned into a nightmare as Atletico took the lead inside the opening minutes. The young goalkeeper slipped while attempting to play out from the back, allowing Julian Alvarez to pick up possession before setting up Marcos Llorente for a side-footed finish into the bottom corner.

Tottenham’s problems only deepened moments later when another slip in defence proved costly, this time from Micky Van de Ven, which allowed Antoine Griezmann to race onto the loose ball and double Atletico’s advantage.

Kinsky’s evening further unravelled when another miskicked clearance fell straight to Alvarez just yards from goal, leaving the Argentine with the simplest of finishes to make it three.

That proved to be the end of Kinsky’s night, with Spurs’ number one Guglielmo Vicario hurriedly introduced after just 16 minutes

The change did little to stem the bleeding, however, as a fourth goal arrived barely 5 minutes later. While Vicario managed a decent initial save to prevent Pape Sarr from heading into his own net, Robin Le Normand was quickest to react, nodding the rebound over the line

Spurs did manage to give themselves a small lifeline before the break, though, when Pedro Porro fired a low effort into the bottom corner.

Second Half: Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham

Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani were replaced at the break by Dominic Solanke and former Atletico midfielder Conor Gallagher as Igor Tudor attempted to give his side more control going forward.

However, any hopes of a comeback were quickly dampened as Atletico added a fifth shortly after the restart. Richarlison had seen a header well saved by Jan Oblak moments earlier, but within seconds the ball was at the other end where Julian Alvarez raced through one-on-one with Guglielmo Vicario before calmly finishing.

Richarlison’s frustration then showed as he picked up a yellow card, ruling him out of the return leg in North London.

A glimmer of hope appeared when the experienced Oblak mirrored Kinsky’s earlier errors, passing the ball directly to the high-pressing Pedro Porro; the Spaniard found Solanke, who finished to make it 5-2.​

Spurs Web Man of the Match: Pedro Porro

​What’s Next for Spurs?

As much sympathy as one might have for Antonin Kinsky, the young goalkeeper simply had to perform better on a night of this magnitude, especially considering that a strong display could have firmly secured his place as Tudor’s first-choice keeper. Some of the responsibility, however, will undoubtedly fall on Igor Tudor as well, who made the bold decision to hand Kinsky his Champions League debut in one of the toughest away grounds possible in a knockout fixture.

Despite his “no comment” response when asked about his position being under threat, there will surely be conversations happening behind the scenes within the Tottenham hierarchy, who have now witnessed an alarming start of four defeats from Tudor’s first four matches in charge, during which Spurs have conceded a staggering 14 goals.

It will be a long night for Tottenham in the return leg, although coming back from a three-goal deficit is not something the club are unfamiliar with. The real question, however, is whether anyone in this current squad has even the slightest bit of fight left in them to replicate the famous 3-3 comeback against Ajax back in 2019.

Before that, though, attention must quickly turn back to the Premier League, where an extremely daunting trip to Anfield awaits, with the relegation zone now sitting just one point away from Tottenham.

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