'Huge b*llocks' - James Maddison heaps praise on Antonin Kinsky after seeing 'brilliant' Tottenham goalkeeper bounce back from Champions League nightmare

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Maddison took to social media to celebrate the resilience of his teammate Kinsky following Spurs' narrow 1-0 win at Wolves. The victory, sealed by a late Joao Palhinha strike, was Tottenham's first in the Premier League since December 28 and the first under new manager Roberto De Zerbi.

Kinsky was the hero in the dying embers of the game, producing a magnificent save to deny Joao Gomes from a free kick. Reflecting on the keeper's journey back to form, Maddison posted on Instagram: "Brilliant mate @tondakinsky. Huge b****cks to bounce back last few weeks. Showing your quality."

The praise from Maddison carries extra weight given the low point Kinsky reached just over a month ago. During his Champions League debut against Atletico Madrid, the young Czech keeper was hauled off after just 17 minutes by then-interim boss Igor Tudor. The substitution followed two disastrous errors that saw Spurs concede three goals in the opening 15 minutes, leaving the player visibly distraught as he left the field.

De Zerbi has shown significant faith in Kinsky, with regular number one Guglielmo Vicario sidelined following surgery.

The Italian manager was glowing in his assessment of the goalkeeper's character following the clean sheet at Molineux, acknowledging the psychological hurdle he had to clear after the Madrid incident.

Speaking to reporters, De Zerbi said: "Good guy and good keeper and especially after Madrid he deserves a day like today. I am happy for the result. The first 35 minutes we played well. Maybe we could create more chances and shots on goal."

The victory provides a massive boost for a Tottenham side in danger of relegation to the Championship. De Zerbi was quick to praise the squad's spirit as they look to climb out of the bottom three, insisting that he sees enough quality in the dressing room to ensure top-flight survival.

The manager added: "I believe we can stay up. It is not 10 points, we are two points from West Ham, who are a good team, but we are a very good team. The most important things are the qualities of the players and the human levels of the players which was a surprise to me because I didn't know them, and when I got to know them better I knew we had the chance to stay up."

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