Winners and Losers from Tottenham’s humiliating 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League

Atletico Madrid demolish Tottenham in the first leg of the Champions League round-of-16 clash.

Tottenham’s Champions League campaign came crashing down in the most humiliating fashion imaginable at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Antonin Kinsky’s catastrophic debut, Micky van de Ven’s latest individual disaster, and a Spurs side that simply had no answer to Atletico’s relentless quality combined to produce one of the most embarrassing European nights in the club’s recent history.

Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke’s goals were nothing more than footnotes in a 5-2 demolition that leaves the tie as good as over.

Winners

Pedro Porro: Got on the scoresheet and was one of Tottenham’s more willing performers throughout a nightmare evening. Showed attacking intent and at least demonstrated the desire to make something happen when virtually everything around him was falling apart. On a night devoid of positives, his goal and general application stood out.

Richarlison: Brought energy and work rate that at least gave Atletico something to think about during his time on the pitch. Pressed with purpose and showed more fight than several of his teammates before being replaced by Palhinha in the 68th minute. In the context of a catastrophic team performance, his effort deserved recognition.

Losers

Antonin Kinsky: Where does one even begin? The 22-year-old’s Champions League debut will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons. Slipping to hand Atletico their opener was bad enough. Gifting the ball directly to Julian Alvarez, who converted into an open net, was almost beyond comprehension. Replaced after just 17 minutes, it was as calamitous a debut as this stage of European football has ever witnessed. The goalkeeper will need enormous mental strength to recover from an evening like this.

Micky van de Ven: Following his inexplicable red card against Crystal Palace, Van de Ven has now produced another individual error of the highest magnitude, slipping at a critical moment to gift Atletico their second goal. Two defining individual disasters in successive matches from a player who is often regarded as one of the Premier League’s most reliable defenders is a deeply troubling pattern. His confidence appears shattered, and with Tottenham fighting relegation, they cannot afford such costly individual lapses.

Igor Tudor: Three Premier League defeats, now a 5-2 European humiliation. Tudor has overseen a total of eleven goals conceded in his last three away fixtures alone, and the manner of this defeat, built on individual errors, a lack of defensive organisation, and a team that psychologically collapsed under pressure, reflects a squad that is visibly disintegrating. The tie is effectively over, the league position is desperate, and questions about his future are now impossible to ignore.