Igor Tudor’s gamble to start Guglielmo Vicario over Antonin Kinski in the Champions League last-16 clash between Tottenham and Atletico Madrid backfired, with Spurs losing the first leg 5-2.
The 22-year-old has started just two games in the Carabao Cup this season and was chosen in goal at the Estadio Metropolitano rather than in Tottenham’s number one.
Tuesday’s game was his first start in the Champions League, and it couldn’t have gone any worse.
Questions will be asked of Tudor’s team selection, especially when he hooked Kinksey inside 17 minutes with Spurs already losing 3-0 after two fatal mistakes by the young goalkeeper.
Tudor did not acknowledge Kinksey when he was replaced.
It was the goalkeeper who scored Atlético’s first goal six minutes later, but his mistake in clearance set up Marcos Llorente’s goal.
A few minutes later, another mistake saw Atlético double their lead. The forward pass from Llorente should have been handled by Micky van de Ven, but he fell to the surface. Antoine Griezmann took full advantage and pushed the ball into the back of the net.
Cristian Romero hugs Kinski as he leaves the pitch
However, the disaster did not end there.
Kinski slipped again as he tried to send the ball to the other side of the box, allowing Alvarez to cross the goal line for the third goal.
Vicario was immediately sent off to warm up and replaced his team-mate shortly after, but Tudor stood motionless on the touchline while his team-mate headed straight down the tunnel with two chasing staff members.
Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario came on for Kinski in the 17th minute.
The Italian stopper’s first task was to push away Atlético’s corner kick, but he was unable to stop Robin Le Normand from scoring the rebound. Despite Spurs’ best efforts to score a goal, goal-line technique resulted in a goal that was clearly over the line.
However, despite their poor defensive performance, Spurs looked positive and scored a goal soon after to make it 4-1. It also worked well when Richarlison cut into the box before finding Pedro Polo. With his first touch the ball evaded the defender and he fired home.
Spurs were fortunate to end the first half with 11 men on the pitch. Van de Ven, who was sent off in last week’s game against Crystal Palace, jumped at the high challenge on David Hanko. The referee ignored Atletico’s claims and VAR checked for a red card, but none was given.
Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez scores his third goal of the game after a mistake by Kinski
The second half was quiet, but there were still some surprising moments. Twelve seconds after Richarlison’s powerful header was saved by Jan Oblak, Atlético beat their opponents and Alvarez scored their fifth goal through the outstretched legs of Vicario.
But even Atlético’s veteran goalkeeper was not immune to mistakes in an excellent first leg. His own poor backpass went straight to Polo, who fed it to Dominic Solanke for a goal, allowing Spurs to claw back another point late on.
Dominic Solanke scores Spurs’ second goal in the final minute of the game.
This leaves them with a three-goal deficit they need to make up for next Wednesday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports during this weekend’s trip to Liverpool. The Reds lost 1-0 to Galatasaray in Tuesday’s first leg.
Sunday, March 15th 4pm
4:30pm kickoff
Tudor: Before the game, starting Kinski was the right choice.
Coach Tudor called the Spurs “vulnerable” and “weak” at the start of the game, somehow explaining why he left Vicario out for the 22-year-old Kinski.
“This is very unusual. I’ve been coaching for 15 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. It was necessary to keep the players and keep the team. It’s an unbelievable situation.”
“Before the game it was the right decision. We put pressure on Vicario and Toni is a very good goalkeeper. After the game it’s easy to say it wasn’t the right decision.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Igor Tudor was defiant about the decision to start Antonin Kinski in Spurs’ 5-2 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.
“I was talking to Toni afterwards and he’s a smart guy and a good goalkeeper, but unfortunately he made a big mistake in this important game.
“The start of the game was too heavy for us, at this moment when we were fragile and weak.”
Tudor remains silent on suitability for Spurs job
Tudor has been negative about his position as head coach of the Spurs after suffering their fourth blowout loss since taking over just 24 days ago. At the post-match press conference in Spain, when asked if he was fit for the role, he opted to say “no comment”, as he had done last week.
Asked if managing Spurs was an “impossible job” at the moment, he said: “I don’t think so. We were aware of who we were and the problems we had. Something happens every game. It’s hard to explain.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
The Football Task Force discusses Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid and whether Antonin Kinski should have started the game.
“I know the players want to do well and when things like this happen, unfortunately in this moment that we’re in, it happens.”
As for what he needs to do to face Liverpool this weekend, he said: “I’m going to do my best. It’s up to the coach to do what he needs to do.”
“It seems like the players were worried about Kinski’s safety, and this is the ultimate humiliation.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge talks about Tottenham’s ‘heartbreaking defeat’ against Atletico Madrid
Michael Bridge of Madrid on Sky Sports News:
“You think you’ve seen everything, but they’re going to have to talk about his (Tudor’s) future. It’s very detrimental. Some players will be unhappy with what happened during the game where Kinski was sent off.”
“I saw Joao Parinha and Conor Gallagher running to console Kinski. They are players who are concerned about Kinski’s health.
“Igor Tudor did not acknowledge Kinski when he was sent off. It was the ultimate humiliation. There has been a strong tweet from David de Gea about this and the players will be speaking to Spurs officials.”
“There was also footage of Cristian Romero asking Tudor to remove Kinski. I asked Tudor about it and he denied it, but when you look at the footage, you wonder if Romero asked him to remove Kinski.”
“It’s a very damaging defeat in many ways. Tudor’s future will now be called into question. With no manager being replaced, things at Spurs are actually getting worse and could get worse before they get better. Tudor was brought in immediately to put out fires, but more fires are being created.”
The story of the game in terms of statistics…
When is the knockout stage?
Round of 16 Second Leg: March 17th-18th
Quarterfinals: April 7th-8th, 14th-15th
Semi-finals: April 28-29, May 5-6
Final: May 30th (Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary)
