Tudor defends decision to start Kinsky in ´strange´ defeat to Atletico

Igor Tudor stood by his decision to start Antonin Kinsky despite the Tottenham goalkeeper enduring a Champions League debut to forget against Atletico Madrid.

Kinsky was brought in to replace Guglielmo Vicario for the first leg of their last 16 tie at the Metropolitano, but his two early errors were pivotal in their 5-2 defeat on Tuesday.

Marcos Llorente and Julian Alvarez both profited from errors by Kinsky inside the opening 15 minutes, with Tudor choosing to substitute him off just two minutes later.

Vicario was unable to stop Robin Le Normand put Atletico further clear as Diego Simeone’s side led 4-0 after just 22 minutes, which is the second earliest a team has ever been in front by at least four goals in a Champions League match after Real Madrid v Dinamo Zagreb in November 2011 (20 minutes).

Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke scored either side of Alvarez’s 55th-minute finish as Spurs slipped to a sixth straight defeat in all competitions for the first time in their history.

But when asked whether it was a mistake to start Kinsky against Atletico, Tudor insisted that a change between the sticks was needed coming into their clash in Madrid.

“No, after you see what happened, it’s the wrong decision. But it was the right decision before,” Tudor told TNT Sports.

“A change of competition, it was the right moment. Unfortunately, what happened, happened. I never changed a goalkeeper after 20 minutes.”

6 – Tottenham Hotspur have lost six consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time in their history. Bleak. #ATMTOT pic.twitter.com/8NeDlwYvOd

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And when questioned whether he had spoken to the Spurs goalkeeper, Tudor added: “We don’t need to comment. It’s not the moment to speak too much.

“It was a strange game, a very strange game. We gave them three goals. We even started well, then the problems kill us in three situations.

“Very, very strange. Very unusual. It took our confidence. We had an opportunity to make it 4-2, then we conceded a goal for 5-1.

“We apologise to the fans and to everyone. It’s a difficult moment. Everything looks like it’s going wrong. Small mistakes, we pay. Everything, unbelievable.

“Even in this situation, at the end, two players [collide]. It felt like everything was going against us.”

And though Tudor suggested there were plenty of positive signs from his team after the break, that did not stop him from becoming the first manager to lose each of his first four games in charge of Tottenham in all competitions.

Despite being in the infancy of his tenure, reports have suggested that Spurs could look to sack the former Juventus boss already, with the club just one point above the Premier League relegation zone and a trip to face Liverpool up next.

“It’s not about me. We need to stay calm. Less talking,” Tudor said when asked if he believed the board would sack him.

“Better less talking. Now is not the moment to try and give a big explanation.”