Only Tottenham can turn a match that seemed like an opportunity into one of the most shameful nights in club history. The terrible first half at the Metropolitano stadium exposed all the problems of the team under coach Igor Tudor in a season where Spurs even had to worry about the risk of relegation to the Premier League.
Tottenham's self-caused mistakes are unbelievable. The performance was so bad that even scoring more goals than Atletico Madrid in the last hour of the match could not erase the memory of that disastrous half.
The defeat to Atletico is not necessarily the biggest shock of the season. Diego Simeone's team once defeated Real Madrid 5-2 in September and also scored 4 goals against Barcelona at Metropolitano stadium not long ago. However, what makes this match unbelievable is the way it went.
Tottenham collapsed due to consecutive personal mistakes. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky slipped leading to the first goal conceded, before Micky van de Ven also made a mistake causing the away team to concede the second goal. When Kinsky continued to miss the ball, he was substituted out after only 17 minutes of play.
According to Opta statistics, Tottenham made four direct mistakes leading to goals conceded in the first half alone. This number is double that of any other team in a Champions League match this season.
The last time a team made four mistakes leading to a goal conceded in a Champions League match was BATE Borisov in a 0-6 defeat to Porto more than a decade ago.
Tudor admitted after the match that he had never witnessed anything similar in his coaching career. The image of Kinsky quietly leaving the field, with a distraught face, will surely haunt Spurs fans for a long time.
What is noteworthy is Tudor's reaction when substituting. While many fans and teammates expressed sympathy for this young goalkeeper, the Croatian captain almost had no encouragement gestures.
Many famous former goalkeepers such as Paul Robinson, Joe Hart or Peter Schmeichel have criticized the handling of this situation. On social networks, David de Gea also expressed sympathy for Kinsky.
Most Tottenham fans believe that the biggest responsibility belongs to Tudor. Bringing a goalkeeper who has been almost out of action for months to start in the Champions League knockout match is considered too risky a decision.
Kinsky entered this match when he had not played officially for 5 months, and before that he only had a few appearances in the Carabao Cup. His six starts in the Premier League all took place from last season, including 5 losses.
Initially, this young goalkeeper seemed quite confident. But after the first mistake, that confidence quickly disappeared. The continuous mistakes of the defense in front of him, especially Van de Ven's situation, made the situation even worse.
Tudor's risky decision backfired. And pressure on the 47-year-old coach is increasing. He became the first coach in Tottenham's history to lose all 4 of his first games leading the team. This series also prolonged Spurs' 6 consecutive defeats in all competitions.
Tudor is expected to help Tottenham stabilize the situation and stay in the league. But instead of improving, the team continues to decline. Spurs still have big challenges ahead, starting with a stressful away game to Anfield against Liverpool, before facing Nottingham Forest. In the context of competitors improving their form, Tottenham cannot rely on luck.
