Just how much worse can it get for Tottenham Hotspur? No Premier League win in 11 attempts, interim boss Igor Tudor having overseen the club’s last three domestic defeats. Relegation looking more likely by the week, Champions League exploits now unlikely to derail their survival bid.
Before their trip to the Wanda Metropolitano, Spurs fans were faced with a dilemma. Would they take European success if it meant also getting relegated at the end of the season. On their way back to London, such a dilemma seems all but moot.
A woeful performance from Tottenham, none more so than by stand-in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky. The Czech stopper slipped not once but twice in the first 17 minutes, both errors leading to giftwrapped goals for Atletico Madrid.
Marcos Llorente could not believe his luck in the sixth minute as Kinsky took the first of his unplanned falls. An empty net for the Spaniard to stroke the ball into as a consequence, the consequences were still worse to come.
Kinsky not the only Tottenham player to taste the turf and with Micky van de Ven also left wondering if he had the right boots on, the Dutch international’s mistake would allow Atletico legend Antoine Griezmann the chance to make it 2-0.
Two goals down in 14 minutes, three down in 17. The second slip from Kinsky, the 22-year-old with a night to forget. Igor Tudor sees enough and decides to reinstall Guglielmo Vicario between the posts. Hindsight is wonderful, but maybe the Italian should have just kept his place in the team?
Whether Vicario would have had the same issues with balance early on, we will never know. He and his teammates knew there were still 73 minutes left in the game. Just how bad could things get in the Spanish capital?
The despair was only turned up further for Spurs in the 22nd minute. Vicario was only on the pitch for five of them and already had to pick the ball out of the net. Robin Le Normand’s effort scrambled over the line to make it 4-0 to the hosts.
A bizarre first half of the first half and still plenty of time before the break for Spurs to get their names on the scoresheet. The flurry of goals continued as Pedro Perro found himself in an advanced position. His strike at least gave the visiting support some form of consolation.
At 4-1, Spurs did manage to finally find their feet and a Richarlison header was well saved from Atletico’s Jan Oblak. That save then opened up a breakaway move from Diego Simeone’s side – 12 seconds later, and the La Liga outfit had scored their fifth.
An almost basketball-like move from one end of the pitch to the other as Atletico’s four-goal margin was restored, and although Dominic Solanke would restore a modicum of respectability with his late strike, a 5-2 first-leg defeat suggests the damage is already done for Tottenham in the Champions League.
A bruising night for Igor Tudor as the Croatian watched from the technical area. The question now is whether the Tottenham board decide to stick or twist in their bid to avoid the drop. Clubs usually hope for a new manager bounce; at this rate, last season’s Europa League winners are going to bounce into the Championship.
