Antonin Kisnky was brutally subbed off just 15 minutes into Tottenham’s Champions League last-16 first-leg match against Atletico Madrid after two errors helped the hosts go 4-1 up early on.
Kinsky was brought into Spurs’ XI by interim boss Igor Tudor for the dropped Guglielmo Vicario but that decision was immediately found to be the wrong decision after an opening 15 minutes to forget as he twice slipped to gift the hosts a goal.
After only six minutes, the Czechia international slipped on the turf while making a pass, allowing Marcos Llorente to eventually pick up the ball and fire it past the keeper.
It was then Mickey van de Ven’s turn to lose his footing, with the defender gifting the ball for Antoine Griezmann to slot home Atletico’s second.
And after only 14 minutes, the tie was almost out of sight already and once again the blame lay at Kinsky’s door, with the stand-in Spurs man completely missing the ball as he went to clear, allowing Julian Alvarez to tap into an empty net.
Kinsky’s complete humiliation was complete when Tudor decided enough was enough and decided to substitute the 22-year-old off only 16 minutes into the game, with Vicario coming back into the team.
While Kinsky was responsible for the errors, some blame will undoubtedly come Tudor’s way for deciding to put him in in the first place before hooking him so early.
Atleti were not done with the early onslaught though as Robin Le Normand headed in from close range despite a wonderful save from substitute Vicario to initially keep it out.
Spurs did pull one back in what was an extraordinary start to this last-16 tie as Pedro Porro drilled home a lifeline for the visitors with a nice finish.
Where to watch Atletico Madrid v Tottenham: TV and online streams
Atletico Madrid v Tottenham kicked off tonight at 8pm UK time. It is available to watch on TNT Sports 1 and can be streamed via Discovery Plus. Sky subscribers with a TNT package can also stream the game via Sky Go.
Atletico Madrid team news
Atletico Madrid starting XI: Oblak, Ruggeri, Hancko, Pubill, Le Normand, Johnny, Llorente, Giuliano, Griezmann, Alvarez, Lookman
Atletico Madrid substitutes: Mussi, Gimenez, Lenglet, Molina, Diaz, Koke, Barrios, Alex B, Vargas, Nico
Tottenham team news
Tottenham starting XI: Kinsky, Danso, Richarlison, Tel, Gray, Romero, Porro, Spence, Sarr, Van de Ven, Muani
Tottenham substitutes: Vicario, Austin, Dragusin, Palhinha, Xavi, Solanke, Gallagher, Oluesi, Roswell
Stats for Atletico Madrid v Tottenham
Atletico have only won one of their last 10 Champions League meetings with English clubs (D2 L7), beating Manchester United 1-0 in March 2022.
Tottenham have faced Atletico just once before in European competition, beating them in the 1963 Cup Winners’ Cup final 5-1.
Atletico have progressed from two of their three previous UChampions League last-16 ties against English clubs, beating Liverpool in 2019-20 and Manchester United in 2021-22, losing the other to Chelsea in 2020-21.
Tottenham have only lost one of their last five Champions League meetings with Spanish opponents (W2 D2), a 2-4 home defeat to Barcelona in the 2018-19 group stage.
Atletico have never lost a Champions League knockout stage game under Diego Simeone at either their former home, the Vicente Calderón (W7 D4), or their current home, the Metropolitano (W6 D2).
Tottenham have won their last three Champions League games without conceding a goal (v Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt). They have never previously won four consecutive matches in the European Cup/Champions League, nor have they kept four straight clean sheets before.
This will be Tudor’s first game as a manager in the knockout stages of the Champions League, while he has won just two of nine matches in the competition overall (D2 L5). His most recent game in the competition was a defeat in the Spanish capital, losing 0-1 at Real Madrid in charge of Juventus this season (October 2025).
