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Tottenham's troubles go from bad to worse as they're beaten 5-2 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last 16 tie in the Champions League, with Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky substituted after just 17 minutes, with his team already 3-0 down at that stage.

MATCH REPORT: Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham

Antonin Kinsky has thanked those who have sent him messages of support on social media after a "nightmare" display in Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

The Czech goalkeeper was substituted after 17 minutes with Spurs trailing 3-0 in the Spanish capital, having made errors which led to Atletico's first and third goals.

The Premier League side went on to lose the first leg of their last-16 tie 5-2.

Kinsky posted on his Instagram story: "Thanks for the messages. From dream to nightmare to dream again. See you."

The 22-year-old was consoled by several team-mates as he made his way off the field.

Spurs manager Igor Tudor, who had selected him to start ahead of Guglielmo Vicario, did not acknowledge Kinsky at the time but said in his post-match media conference that he had spoken with his goalkeeper afterwards.

The former Croatia international said of the substitution: "It was necessary to preserve the guy and preserve the team.

"It was, before the game, the right choice to do in the moment we are [in] - pressure on Vicario, another competition and Toni is a very good goalkeeper.

"So it was, for me, the right decision. After, it's easy to say it was not the right decision.

"I explained to Toni, speaking after, that he is the right guy and a good goalkeeper. Unfortunately, these mistakes happened in this big game."

Tottenham Hotspur owner Enic does not plan to take the decision on Igor Tudor's future out of the hands of the club's executive team despite the manager's poor start.

In addition to concerns over results, sources are indicating that there is a growing disconnect between members of the squad and Tudor, with a number of players left unconvinced that the coach can lead the team to safety.

Tudor's decision not to approach goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky to offer his support after he was substituted 17 minutes into the loss at Atletico has also not gone down well with members of the squad.

Sources have indicated to BBC Sport that the club's owners are not, and have never been, involved in the day to day running of the club, even during Daniel Levy's era, allowing those on the ground to make decisions, and will leave any call about Tudor to the Spurs executives.

It is understood that the decision to sack Frank in February was taken by Venkatesham and Lange before being ratified by the ownership.

Tottenham Hotspur owner Enic does not plan to take the decision on Igor Tudor's future out of the hands of the club's executive team despite the manager's poor start.

Tudor finds himself under major pressure having lost all four of his games in charge, conceding 14 goals in the process.

Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange were both at the forefront of the decision to appoint the 47-year-old following the sacking of Thomas Frank last month.

Tottenham, who face Liverpool on Sunday, can fall into the Premier League relegation zone at the weekend and face an uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals following the 5-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Relegation would represent a disastrous scenario for Spurs, and Tudor has failed to halt the team's slide towards the bottom three.

In addition to concerns over results, sources are indicating that there is a growing disconnect between members of the squad and Tudor, with a number of players left unconvinced that the coach can lead the team to safety.

Tudor's decision not to approach goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky to offer his support after he was substituted 17 minutes into the loss at Atletico has also not gone down well with members of the squad.

Sources have indicated to BBC Sport that the club's owners are not, and have never been, involved in the day to day running of the club, even during Daniel Levy's era, allowing those on the ground to make decisions, and will leave any call about Tudor to the Spurs executives.

It is understood that the decision to sack Frank in February was taken by Venkatesham and Lange before being ratified by the ownership.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Enic decides to take matters into its own hands if Tottenham's relegation fears worsen in the coming weeks.

The make-up of Tottenham's internal structures have changed dramatically in recent months.

Venkatesham's arrival in the summer of 2025 was followed by Levy's shock departure as executive chairman after 25 years at the club in September.

Since Levy's exit, the Lewis family - who effectively own Tottenham - have been far more visible than in previous years while also ratifying the appointments of Fabio Paratici - who has since left for Fiorentina - as co-sporting director and Rafi Moersen from Manchester City as director of football operations.

Family figurehead Joe Lewis is understood to have taken more of a peripheral role in recent months with younger generations of the family including Lewis' children Vivienne and Charlie becoming more prominent.

Nick Beucher - the grandson-in-law of Joe Lewis - has also taken a greater involvement.

Following Levy's exit, Peter Charrington, the club's non-executive chairman, said: "This is a new era of leadership for the club, on and off the pitch.

"I do recognise there has been a lot of change in recent months as we put in place new foundations for the future.

"We are now fully focused on stability and empowering our talented people across the club, led by Vinai and his executive team."

Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven says they found themselves in a "doomsday scenario" during their Champions League match against Atletico Madrid, adding the club is "just taking blow after blow".

Spurs suffered a shambolic 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday - their fourth successive defeat under interim boss Igor Tudor.

The Premier League club trailed 4-0 after only 22 minutes, with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky withdrawn in the 17th minute, having conceded three times in an error-strewn start.

Spurs have lost six straight games in all competitions and are winless in nine.

Van de Ven, speaking to Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport, said the start of the match was "terrible", adding: "It's actually a doomsday scenario. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.

"For our goalkeeper it's terrible as well of course. You don't wish that on anyone.

"For 15 minutes we just conceded goals that you really can't do anything about."

Former Juventus and Marseille boss Tudor's appointment as interim head coach in February followed Thomas Frank's dismissal after less than eight months in charge, but has yet to have the desired impact to lift the side.

With Spurs 16th in the Premier League and just a point clear of third-bottom West Ham, the top priority over the remainder of the season is avoiding a first relegation from the top flight since 1977.

They return to domestic duties on Sunday when they travel to defending league champions Liverpool, while a crucial home game on 22 March against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest follows next Wednesday's second leg against Atletico Madrid.

"Right now we're just taking blow after blow after blow," said Van de Ven, who will miss the trip to Liverpool after being sent off in last Thursday's 3-1 home loss to Crystal Palace.

"It's just really tough, and now we also have an important match this weekend that I won't be able to play in because I'm suspended.

"It's a really terrible period, I can tell you that. It's really, really awful."

Van de Ven said he no longer checks his phone amid the club's current plight.

"I'm not on my phone anymore. I'm completely done with it. Just my family, so it'll be fine," added the 24-year-old.

"It's rough, really rough. I have to keep going. It's part of it, that's life and we'll see what's coming."

Where do Tottenham Hotspur go from here?

A calamitous 5-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday marked a new low point in Spurs' shambolic season.

On Wednesday, Tottenham said interim manager Igor Tudor would speak with the media on Friday at a news conference before the club's Premier League match at Liverpool.

Tudor, hired in part for having a positive short-term impact at the clubs he has managed, has overseen four consecutive defeats in a dismal 25-day reign since succeeding Thomas Frank on 14 February.

While hopes of Champions League progress appear in tatters following their latest chastening defeat, it is Tottenham's Premier League situation which remains most pressing.

It is the need to avoid an unthinkable first relegation from the top flight since 1977 which will inform the club's next steps.

Just 10 months after winning the Europa League, Spurs sit one point above the relegation places with nine games remaining.

"In footballing terms, this is an absolute crisis that Tottenham are in," commentator John Murray said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

With Tudor struggling to improve the club's fortunes, and little evidence of progress, is there anyone else Spurs could realistically call upon to rescue their season?

Among the factors which led to Tudor's appointment, Tottenham admired his work improving teams on a short-term basis - including at Italian giants Juventus.

Tudor was given the Juventus job on a permanent basis after achieving Champions League football with a run of just one defeat in nine at the end of the 2024-25 season.

But he has so far failed to have any such impact in north London.

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live that Tudor "was not the right appointment from the start".

"We talk about a new manager bounce, when a new manager comes in and the players react and they get one or two results. That's what Tottenham were looking for," Robinson said.

"For Tottenham, it's the wrong person at the wrong time. You saw the performance of the players. The minimum requirement is maximum effort.

"The attitude and application was not there. They were not playing for the manager."

Tottenham must now dust themselves down for a meeting with Premier League holders Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, a stadium where they have conceded 17 goals in their past four visits in all competitions.

A crucial home game against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest follows next week's return leg against Atletico Madrid.

But the mood within the squad has also been clear off the pitch, with Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma admitting the players view their situation as "a big emergency".

Former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood has accused Tudor of "adding fuel to the fire" in that regard.

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Sherwood said: "He hasn't given the players a lift at all.

"He's a firefighter who has a can of petrol in his hand - he's adding fuel to the fire rather than restoring confidence to the players."

A man manager with the ability to restore confidence in a squad which ended the club's 17-year trophy wait last season, but also finished 17th in the league, would seem of paramount importance - should Tottenham decide to make a change.

Not least given the nature of Tuesday's loss in Madrid, during which 22-year-old goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was taken off after a brutal opening 17 minutes and was consoled by team-mates but ignored by his manager as he left the pitch.

However, former Tottenham winger Chris Waddle said it is also on the players "to stand up and be counted".

"The players are drained of confidence," said Waddle.

"We can talk all day about management and the players but the biggest thing in football is; if you've got no confidence, don't play.

"So many Spurs players hide because they've got no confidence. They don't want to cross that white line and you can see that."

Where might Tottenham look if they did decide to place man-management at the top of their search priorities?

Former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason previously stepped up as the club's interim head coach in both 2021 and 2023, overseeing 13 games in the Premier League, before being appointed as assistant coach to Ange Postecoglou.

Mason ended his seven-year coaching career at Spurs last summer to take over at West Brom, but he was sacked by the Championship club in January.

Meanwhile, former Tottenham boss Sherwood, speaking on Sky Sports,, external said he could do a short-term stint as the club's head coach to help guide them out of trouble.

Another former Spurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino, was said to be a candidate to permanently replace Frank, but his contract with the United States men's national team does not expire until after this summer's World Cup.

One former Spurs manager who appears to have ruled himself out of contention is 79-year-old Harry Redknapp.

"I won't [take the job] - I don't expect to get a call," Redknapp told BBC Radio 5 Live. "My focus this week is enjoying myself at Cheltenham."

Former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane was reported to be interested, external in the job before the club appointed Tudor in February.

Spurs may choose to look further afield - but their current options, within the search parameters as they were a month ago, appear limited.

In addition to a track record of having an immediate impact, Spurs sought someone with top level managerial experience who plays attacking football.

When Spurs initially began their search to replace Frank, himself dismissed after less then eight months in charge, former Marseille boss Roberto de Zerbi, former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic and ex-Red Bull Leipzig boss Marco Rose were among the other potential short-term options.

Ex-Brighton boss De Zerbi left his role as manager of Marseille by mutual consent after just under two years in charge, three days before Spurs confirmed their appointment of Tudor.

Terzic has been out of work since asking Dortmund "to terminate his contract with immediate effect" in June 2024, after leading the club to the Champions League final.

Rose was sacked by RB Leipzig in March 2025, having won 72 of his 127 matches in charge and lifted the German Cup in 2023.

Within the Premier League, Oliver Glasner, Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva are among the names who will be available this summer - but would any be prepared to leave their respective clubs earlier to help Spurs' cause?

FA Cup-winning manager Glasner has confirmed he will leave Crystal Palace this summer, but his immediate future was understood to be in doubt in February amid a poor run of results.

Bournemouth are reportedly set to, external open contract talks with Iraola in an effort to ward off interest from Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Fulham chief Tony Khan has said he is confident, external Silva will stay at the club "for a long time".

Is Tudor's Spurs reign almost up?

Phil McNulty

BBC Sport chief football writer

If Igor Tudor's jaw-dropping removal of goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was a brutal example of a mistake being rectified swiftly, then is it time for Tottenham's hierarchy to consider doing the same?

The interim head coach delivered a time-honoured blunt "no comment" when asked whether he deserved to keep his job after the 5-2 loss at Atletico Madrid, his fourth straight defeat.

This situation, like Spurs' season, seems out of his control even after only 26 days in charge.

His position is looking increasingly untenable, with every scrap of evidence produced since he succeeded Thomas Frank suggesting he is the wrong man in the wrong place.

Tudor's unique selling point in a chequered, nomadic coaching career was supposedly his ability to provide an instant spark of impact. At Spurs, this has been The Midas Touch in reverse - The Minus Touch.

Four defeats from four games is the worst start by anyone in charge at Spurs, with each one more damaging and demoralising than the last. He is not arresting the Spurs crisis, he is accelerating it.

Tudor has demonstrated he is not afraid to make the big calls. The snag is, he is getting them wrong when Spurs can ill-afford it. And, as yet, he has not fulfilled his part of the bargain.

His days may now be measured in very small numbers.

Tottenham 'admired' Tudor's short-term work

Sami Mokbel

BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

Spurs wanted an interim head coach until the end of the season - and that immediately narrowed the field down.

After reviewing their options, it is understood Spurs felt Igor Tudor fit the bill for a few key reasons.

He has experience working at some top European clubs and managing big-name players.

His reputation is about aggressive football with an attacking intent, an element which was particularly important to Spurs after criticism of their style of play under Thomas Frank.

The club also admired his work in improving teams on a short-term basis.

For example, his Lazio team were unbeaten in the league for the first two months after he joined. And he only lost one of his first nine games at Juventus, also going unbeaten in his first eight matches in his first full season at the club.

Poll: Should Tottenham sack Igor Tudor?

It seems an unlikely question about a manager who has only had four matches in charge, but Tottenham's form and results under Igor Tudor really have been that bad.

Things started off with a heavy defeat at home to north London rivals Arsenal and unravelled from there, with further losses in the Premier League at Fulham and at home to Crystal Palace before Tuesday's shambolic display at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

There have been numerous calls - which we will get to shortly - for the Spurs hierarchy to cut their losses and end Tudor's interim tenure, which was due to last until the end of the season.

So we are asking you the question in our poll at the top of this page - should Tottenham sack Igor Tudor?

Galatasaray stun Liverpool in Istanbul

Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool

Liverpool

Arne Slot's 100th game in charge of Liverpool took an unexpected turn as Galatasaray established a narrow 1-0 lead in their last-16 tie.

Former Southampton, Fulham and Wolves midfielder Mario Lemia delivered the blow with a headed goal past Giorgi Mamardashvili just seven minutes into the first-leg fixture.

It was the 10th goal the Reds have conceded from corners this season.

Liverpool did think they had levelled things up in the 70th minute, though, after the ball was bundled over the line from Dominik Szoboszlai's corner.

But it wasn't to be as VAR, following a lengthy check, ruled the ball had hit Ibrahima Konate's arm in the build-up, once from the corner delivery and twice after the ball came off Virgil van Dijk's heel.

It leaves Slot's side with it all to do in the second leg at Anfield on 18 March.

'Staggered' by decision to substitute Kinsky

Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham

John Murray

BBC football correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

Honestly, I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like the first 23 minutes of what happened in the Metropolitano last night.

The feeling was it might not go well for Tottenham, but they'd be in touch for the second leg at home in London. The first 20 minutes or so they were completely blown away. It was mistake after slip after error after mistake. And Atletico Madrid just scored goals after goal after goal after goal, so that was one thing.

But to substitute the goalkeeper, 22-year-old Antonin Kinsky, which had been Igor Tudor's big call to play in the Champions League for Tottenham for the first time. And yes, he made two of the slips which led to two of the three goals scored at that time, but to substitute him off, I honestly can't remember seeing anything like that before.

He came running off the field. I saw two or three of his team-mates came over to him as he came off the field, and Tudor, his manager who made the call to play him, stood on the edge of the coaching area, and there was no interaction between the two at all.

We were staggered.

Why was Vicario dropped?

Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham

Paul Robinson referred to concerns over the form of Tottenham's number one goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as the trigger for Igor Tudor to start Antonin Kinsky ahead of him at Atletico Madrid - a decision that he accepted backfired.

Vicario had started the majority of Tottenham's domestic and European games so far this season, but was dropped by Tudor on Tuesday night following recent poor performances.

The Italian shot-stopper had started all three games under the club's new interim head coach.

However, Vicario conceded nine goals in those opening three fixtures, with defeats to Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace starting Tudor's reign.

It was for that reason the boss decided to switch things up in-between the sticks at the Estadio Metropolitano.

Speaking pre-match, Tudor was tight-lipped on his decision: “I chose today what I think is best for the team in this moment. This is the first XI for today. There is also the second game [in this tie], so there is space for everyone."

'Quite blatantly for self preservation'

Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham

Paul Robinson

Former Tottenham goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

He's [Igor Tudor] making decisions that he maybe thinks is going to one, keep him in a job, or two, keep Tottenham in the Premier League and performances are going to turn around.

It was a very selfish decision [to substitute Antonin Kinsky in the 17th minute] as a manager.

Actually, when you rewind the clock, I think he brought Kinsky in tonight because [Guglielmo] Vicario has been poor. Vicario has made errors that have led to goals and he has cost Tottenham points in the league, of late. I think he brought Kinsky in tonight thinking that if he does well I have got an excuse to keep him in now until the end of the season.

He reverted on that decision very, very early on in the game. I have never seen that in my playing career, in my broadcasting career, I have never seen a manager substitute a goalkeeper so obviously because of the mistakes that he made.

It's quite blatantly for self preservation by the manager because it was a decision that he thought was best for him and his team at the time, without consideration for the young goalkeeper.

"If you've got no confidence, don't play."

That is the message from former Tottenham winger Chris Waddle to members of the current squad who have "no confidence" amid their recent dismal run.

Tuesday's disastrous 5-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid was a fourth successive loss in Igor Tudor's four games in charge.

When asked on the Football Daily podcast whether Tudor was the man to turn things around for Spurs, Waddle said: "Not at the moment, no. If you look at it, no, but then who can?

"The players are drained of confidence. They need to stand up and be counted. You've got players like [Cristian] Romero who have won the World Cup and is captain of the club.

"You've got international footballers throughout the squad and they don't do anything - the changing room obviously must not be as close as people say it is.

"You roll your sleeves up. It might be ugly and you might win 1-0 in a horrible game and it was terrible but they are so easy to play against Tottenham at the minute.

"I watch them play. I had four years there, it's a great club, I really enjoyed it. I watch them now and they don't look like they want to wear the shirt.

"We can talk all day about management and the players but the biggest thing in football is; if you've got no confidence, don't play.

"Just put your hand up and say, 'I'm sorry, I can't play'.

"You want players who are going to roll their sleeves up, get on the ball - what were you bought for? What are you paid for? To create, do things and work.

"The simple thing about football is working hard, being organsied - that's not hard.

"But you look at so many Spurs players and they hide because they've got no confidence. They don't want to cross that white line and you can see that. Every time I watch Tottenham play they are so easy to play against.

"They should go out and have a good drink and a good chat and tell the truth to each other."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

This is the question Tottenham's board members will be asking themselves after Igor Tudor's latest aberration: are the players responding to the manager's methods?

The answer appears clear. Four games have brought four losses, with 14 goals conceded.

Results aside, sources have indicated to BBC Sport in recent days that members of the Tottenham squad are still to be convinced that Tudor has the tools to guide this struggling team away from the sorry predicament they find themselves.

So, with that in mind, the club's hierarchy clearly has a big decision to make.

Before this latest loss, internal concerns over Tudor's position had already started to generate. This result will only serve to sharpen the focus on Tudor's job security in the coming days.

Before the clash, there was a sense that a positive performance in Madrid could be used as a building block for Tudor before a crucial game at Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend.

You wonder if the manner of this loss – and the sub-plots that unraveled on a tortuous night for Spurs – has altered the direction of travel.

Tudor was appointed because of his track record in sparking immediate improvements at other clubs, namely at Juventus and Lazio.

His arrival has heralded the opposite effect. That, coupled with what some have described as a "disconnect" between players and the manager, leaves Tudor under increased scrutiny.

A decision to sack Tudor so soon after his appointment would provide a clear admission of error from the Tottenham hierarchy. The club's ownership, you would imagine, will be demanding answers.

But k.eeping Tudor may prove an even bigger mistake with Tottenham's top-flight status on the line.

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