Tottenham Hotspur have a mountain to climb if they want to advance in the Champions League after losing the first leg of their Round of 16 tie with Atletico Madrid by a score of 5-2. But they might have just gotten a small boost — there are reports now that Atletico starting keeper Jan Oblak will miss the match with an injury, and will be replaced by Juan Musso.
That’s pretty good news! For starters, Oblak is an outstanding shot stopper as evident from his performance in the first leg; he made a number of quality stops that could’ve gotten Spurs back in the game. Second, there’s already evidence of what could happen when a team in this tie plays a backup goalkeeper, so turnabout’s fair play, right? Maybe Spurs should water the pitch a little extra to recreate the slippery conditions that led to Antonin Kinsky’s disastrous performance in the first leg.
In all seriousness, while a three goal deficit isn’t ideal, it’s hardly a death sentence. Apart from the opening 20 minutes, Spurs played Atleti more or less even from there on out and even pulled two goals back in the thumping. It’s unlikely, but not inconceivable, that Spurs could play well enough at home to erase that aggregate score and sneak into the quarterfinals. Maybe it’s just the vibes injection I got from yesterday’s encouraging draw against Liverpool, or maybe I’m just high on my own supply of hopium, but I have a sneaking suspicion this round isn’t as dead as what people think it is.