Tottenham finally had something to cheer for as they beat Atletico Madrid, 3-2.
There is a lot of chaos surrounding Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the moment (and along the ongoing campaign), and that performance against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night quietly gave Lilywhites supporters something the club has been desperately lacking all season. A reason to look forward.
The North Londoners won the game on a 3-2 scoreline despite crashing out of the Champions League. But Spurs saw academy graduate Callum Olusesi step onto the European top tier for the first time, and his breakthrough in the first team at N17 did not go unnoticed.
Olusesi gets messages from around Hotspur Way and from L4
It is surely a night that will stay with Olusesi, given that he was introduced late on in the game by Igor Tudor, who has sown that trust in his young players even in the most pressure situations, ironically much more than both Frank and Postecoglou combined. And the 19-year-old showed composure beyond his years.
He had eight touches of the ball whilst completing five passes with 100 per cent accuracy. No fireworks, but (more importantly) no fear either.
And after the game, Olusesi posted a simple message on social media stating his Champions League debut. And his Tottenham teammates in Destiny Udogie, Mathys Tel, and Xavi Simons were the first to respond. Then it was Liverpool starlet Rio Ngumoha who started against Tottenham last weekend.
While Simons’ reply “told you” hinted at something more behind the scenes, showing that the teenager is already earning the respect of players around him. While Ngumoha wrote ‘Deserved ”.
Author Opinion
Given the context of the Champions League exit at Hotspur Way, it would be easy to dismiss his debut in the glossy asterisks of the game. But given how Tudor has now given him his bow in the Premier League as well as the Champions League, even when the former Juventus manager was in the most high-pressure of situations, it shows how the Croat trusts in his talent.
Olusesi is surely nowhere near a starter just yet. But he has been putting in impressive performances off the bench. And given that Tottenham have this crucial game against Nottingham Forest just around the corner, Tudor will keenly call for him again (hopefully) to close out the game once again.
It has been a season filled with setbacks at Hotspur Way, but every so often, you get a glimpse of the future that cuts through the noise. And that is what Olusesi’s debut has been.
His debut is not going to fix the bigger problems at N17, it will not change the league table or erase all the losses that Tottenham have suffered in the 2025/26 campaign. But what it does offer is something simpler, a reminder that even in the middle of a storm, you can get something positive.