JAKARTA - Tottenham Hotspur's reserve goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky made a blunder that resulted in his goal being immediately conceded when losing 5-2 to Atletico Madrid in the first match of the Champions League at the Metropolitano Stadium, Wednesday, March 11, 2026 WIB. Kinsky only played 17 minutes and was then replaced by Guglielmo Vicario who also scored twice.
Tottenham, Kinsky and manager Igor Tudor were apes when playing in European competitions. The intention was to give Kinsky confidence after Vicario was unable to show his best performance when Tottenham suffered five consecutive defeats in the English Premier League.
Only Tudor's decision to play Kinsky was still judged to be beyond expectations. How not, Kinsky who is still 22 and has minimal flight hours. He hasn't stood under the net since October 2025. The goalkeeper, who was recruited from Slavia Prague in the transfer market earlier this season, also rarely played in the Premier League.
However, Kinsky was instead entrusted by Tudor to face Atletico who have a row of predators in the penalty box such as Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez. Moreover, this striker duo is supported by Adeloma Lookman and Marcos Llorente who are no less fierce in the opponent's defense area.
In the Evening Standard's analysis, Tudor does not seem to prioritize the Champions League because it is difficult for Tottenham to compete with elite European teams.
The reason is that The Lilywhites have to face competition from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich to fellow English League clubs, Manchester City and Liverpool. Tudor prioritizes the Premier League because the North London team is on the verge of relegation. They are ranked 16th or one strip above the relegation zone with a one-point advantage.
However, Tudor's decision to drop Kinsky still left questions. It turns out, the Czech Republic national team goalkeeper is like carrying a burden and nervous about facing one of the strongest teams in Spain's LaLiga.
It turned out that the match had only been running for six minutes, Kinsky made a mistake himself. He slipped while trying to kick the ball. As a result, the ball was received by Lookman who then gave it to Alvarez.
The Argentina national team forward didn't shoot at the goal but passed it to Llorente and his hard shot broke Tottenham's goal.
The 1-0 advantage made Atletico increase the attack. Not long after, the hosts managed to increase the lead. This time the defender Micky van de Ven who replaced him made a blunder.
When he was about to chase the ball, the Dutch defender slipped. As a result, the ball was easily received by Griezmann. There was no escort for Griezmann who easily released a shot that defeated Kinsky. The goal that was created in the 14th minute changed the score to 2-0.
The disaster in Tottenham's defense is not over. Only a minute after the goal, Kinsky again made a blunder when receiving a back pass from Van de Van. The ball he was going to throw was just accepted by Alvarez. Clearly without any difficulty, Alvarez, facing an empty goal, only needed to push the ball to bring Atletico ahead 3-0.
There was absolutely no resistance when Diego Simeone's team broke into Tottenham's goal three times in 15 minutes. Not long after, Tudor realized his mistake and pulled Kinsky to replace Vicario. When he left the arena, Kinsky got a standing ovation from Atletico supporters.
Even though Vicario stood back under the bar, it didn't mean that Tottenham's goal was safe. Moreover, Atletico didn't slow down the game. As a result, he had to pick up the ball in his goal because of Robin Le Normand's header.
It started with Griezmann's free kick heading towards the opponent's goal. There was a mess because Vicario managed to block Le Normand's header. However, the ball turned out to have crossed the goal line so the referee declared the goal. The score changed to 4-0 in the 22nd minute.
In the losing position, Tottenham tried to rise. Their attack turned out to be fruitful when Pedro Porro defeated goalkeeper Jan Oblak just two minutes later. The goal at least narrowed Tottenham's deficit to 4-1. The score held until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, Atletico continued to play offensively. The offensive game of Los Rojiblancos immediately gave results in the 55th minute. Alvarez successfully scored a brace after completing Griezmann's assist.
Furthermore, Tottenham could still add a goal so that they did not lose badly. Substitute Dominic Solanke broke Atletico's goal in the 76th minute. The score changed to 5-2 and lasted until the end of the match. The result made Tottenham suffer their fourth defeat in various competitions since being handled by Tudor.
The big score also complicates Tottenham's efforts to turn things around in the second leg, which will be held at their own home at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on March 19, 2026. Repot again before facing Atletico, they have to meet Liverpool in the domestic competition.
"We conceded three goals when the match started. This obviously makes it difficult for us," Tudor said as quoted by the UEFA website when responding to Tottenham's defeat.
"After this match, we have to forget as soon as possible and focus on the match against Liverpool. Next we focus on the second match [against Atletico]," he said again.
Meanwhile, Simeone was satisfied with this victory. However, he ensured that there was still a second match that was decisive.
"We still think positively with what happened in this match. I think we should have been able to add a goal in the first half. We will still face the decisive second match. And the match will still be as difficult as other matches in European competitions," said Simeone.
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