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Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham, Champions League: Kinsky's nightmare, Tudor's disgrace, Simeone's masterclass

Atletico Madrid crush Tottenham 5-2 in the Champions League as Antonin Kinsky’s disastrous debut and Diego Simeone’s tactics leave Spurs in chaos

Daniel Echoda
Daniel Echoda
11/03/2026
5 min read

Four goals in 22 minutes, a manager who couldn't look his own player in the eye when he took him off, and a scoreline, 5-2, that flatters Tottenham beyond recognition; the Metropolitano on Tuesday night was a public autopsy of a club that has lost its way so completely that even European football, the one arena where Spurs had found some dignity this season, is no longer a refuge.

Antonin Kinsky was the story of the first half, and not in any way he'd have imagined when he woke up for his Champions League debut. The 22-year-old slipped in the sixth minute, gifting Marcos Llorente an open goal. He slipped again in the 15th, miskicking a routine pass straight to Julian Alvarez for the third. By the time Tudor hooked him off in the 17th minute, Kinsky trudged past his manager without so much as a glance coming back his way.

Djed Spence later walked over to Tudor on the touchline, tapped him on the back and appeared to make a point of the moment. The Croatian barely flinched; the optics were dreadful, and the football had already matched them.

Antoine Griezmann was the star of the night
Antoine Griezmann was the star of the night

Atletico, to their credit, were absolutely ruthless. Griezmann, still 34 and still infuriating opposition defences in ways that defy explanation, curled home the second after Van de Ven slipped, then laid off a gorgeous mid-air backheel in the 55th minute to send Alvarez through for his second of the night and 16th goal of the season in all competitions.

Le Normand headed in from Vicario's parried free-kick to make it 4-0 inside 22 minutes, the second earliest a team has ever scored four goals in a Champions League game as revealed by Sky Sports.

Atlético have never lost a Champions League knockout home game under the Simeone (14W, 6D, 0L), and nothing on Tuesday night suggested that record is under any threat.

Llorente was the name few outside Madrid had circled before kick-off, but he should have been. All four of his goals this season have come in the Champions League. He was everywhere in the first half, driving, pressing and linking with Alvarez and Griezmann in combinations that Spurs couldn't get near.

Lookman, making his case for more consistent starts, was direct and dangerous down the left and forced Vicario into a fine stop with his knee midway through the second half.

Spurs weren't completely without heart, though. Porro slid home in the 26th minute after a nice build-up from Richarlison, and Solanke, sharp off the bench, pounced on a stray Oblak pass in the 76th to score in his third consecutive Champions League game. But the scoreline by then was already 5-1, and the two goals were consolations dressed up as statistics.

Paul Robinson, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said Richarlison was the only Spurs player who showed any real fight all night. That's a generous framing of a performance that recorded 10 separate slips across the 90 minutes, finished with the lowest six-minute spell in the club's European history, and left Mauricio Pochettino watching from the stands as the internet begged for his return.

Tudor has overseen four consecutive defeats, managed a Champions League knockout fixture for the first time in his career and produced one of the most chaotic team selections the competition has seen this season, starting a goalkeeper on his debut in a knockout tie, then hauling him off without acknowledgement when it went wrong.

The second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is next week. Atleti would need not do much in that fixture.

Players Ratings

Atletico: Oblak 7, Le Normand 8, Hancko 7, Pubill 7, Ruggeri 7, Llorente 8, Cardoso 7, G.Simeone 7, Lookman 7, Griezmann 9, Alvarez 9.

Tottenham: Kinsky 3, Romero 5, Danso 5, Van de Ven 5, Porro 7, Sarr 5, Gray 5, Spence 5, Kolo Muani 4, Tel 5, Richarlison 7. Substitutes: Vicario 6, Gallagher 6, Solanke 7.

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