Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham: The Champions League proved to be no tonic for Spurs. Spurs’ crisis deepened on a night that both Antonin Kinski and Igor Tudor will want to forget.
Igor Tudor has lost all four games as Tottenham manager (Image: Dennis Agyeman/Europa Press via Getty Images)
17 minutes was enough for Antonin Kinski. Igor Tudor will need four games.
Having so much faith in the goalkeeper, the most high-profile position on the pitch, to hang him up in such a humiliating fashion begs the question: Does Tottenham’s new manager believe in what he’s doing? It’s clear that four games wasn’t what Tudor had in mind when he agreed to replace Thomas Frank, but he was well aware of what he was getting into and how quickly a change needed to be made.
It’s clear that the Spurs are still in a slump that started long before Frank took over. Tuesday’s first half against Atletico Madrid will go down as the nadir of their struggles.
Conceded 4 goals in 22 minutes. It’s nothing more than a horror show. It has to be said that after Atlético scored their third of five goals that night, Tudor made the surprising decision to sub Kinski, who was responsible for multiple goals.
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Vicario may have felt a little smug at how things had turned out, but he almost felt sorry for Kinski, who replaced him. The Italian player’s confidence, which fell due to his sudden recall, cannot necessarily be called solid.
If Tudor feels it’s right to snag a player after 17 minutes, I wouldn’t complain if Spurs pull the trigger on him. Kinski certainly did not boast his glory at Madrid, but his replacement threatens to “end” his Tottenham career after only 13 appearances since singing in January 2025.
That’s Ally McCoist’s verdict, he told TNT Sports: “It’s over. He’s going to be done. There’s no going back. Absolutely (that’s the coach’s decision).”
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Antonin Kinski was consoled by his team-mates as he was sent off (Image: Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
“But you can argue that he has to do it too, because you shouldn’t make a mistake like that. It’s an elementary school mistake. It was proven that he made the mistake of substituting the goalkeeper. That was an absolutely remarkable 14 minutes.”
Tudor was so disappointed with the 22-year-old’s performance that he didn’t even recognize Kinski as he trudged off towards the curved Wanda Metropolitano. Football is a cruel business, but this was beyond common sense. At least some of Kinski’s teammates tried to console him, including captain Cristian Romero.
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Joe Hart was appalled at Tudor’s disdain for the young keeper who suffered a public mishap. “He had a terrible 14 minutes and there’s no way he can get away from that. The stadium feels sorry for him, too,” Hart said.
“Tudor doesn’t even acknowledge his goalkeeper. He doesn’t even acknowledge him. If that’s man management, I’m appalled.”
Igor Tudor gets beaten by Joe Hart
“He acted as if it wasn’t 14 minutes. And that doesn’t happen at any level. I’m talking Sunday League. This is the Champions League. Yes, he had a bad moment. Did he do it on purpose? Of course he didn’t. Stand by the team and send a message. No, stand there, pretend nothing happened and move on.”
Spurs have a mountain to climb in the second leg, but even by Tudor’s own admission, the Champions League is second on his list of priorities. Sunday at Anfield – it can’t get any worse, can it?
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