Atletico Madrid 5 Spurs 2
Where do I even start with this one? There’s times when I do these reviews and I’m struggling to get five points for a match but I do ten points with the mayhem that went on in this game. Spurs got off to the worst possible start as Champions League debutant Antonin Kinnsky slipped giving the ball to Lookman who pass it to Alvarez who then layed the ball off to Llorente who fired home to make it 1-0 to Atletico in just the 5th minute. Then in the 13th minute as the ball is played back to Van De Ven he slips setting Griezmann clean through on goal who feints past Danso and slides the ball past Kinsky to put Atletico 2-0 up on the night. As if things couldn’t get worse for Spurs just two minutes after the second goal Kinsky tries a first-time pass to Danso and messes it up completely giving the ball straight to Alvarez who runs the ball into the net to put Atletico 3-0 up in just 15 minutes. Igor Tudor then takes a devastated Kinsky off the pitch for Vicario right after who is consoled by the Spurs management going down the tunnel, it didn’t take long for Atletico to add a fourth as Griezmann’s free-kick was headed just past the goal-line by Le Normand in the 21st minute to all but finish the tie in 20 minutes. Porro pulled one back for Spurs in the 25th minute to give Spurs a slither of hope in a crazy first half. Just ten minutes into the second half Richarlison missed a sitter just in front of goal heading it straight at Oblak only for Atletico to go straight up the other end as Alvarez put Atletico 5-1 up, Solanke pulled another one back in the 76th minute to give Spurs a very small bit of hope heading into next week.
A horrifying 20 minutes costs Spurs the tie. I mean I don’t think I’ve seen anything like what we saw in that first half despite the madness that has ensued since Tudor took over. To start Kinsky in a knockout tie in the Champions League against Atletico of all teams was complete madness and then to hook him off straight after that third goal without even acknowledging him was really hard to watch I have to say, Vicario has been a disaster all season but surely now isn’t the time to throw someone straight into the deep end who hasn’t even played since October. Then you look at their defenders like Van De Ven and Romero who just keep letting their team down game after game yet again conceding needless goals that all but end Spurs’ hopes of going through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The two goals save Spurs’ blushes a tiny bit but they are more confident away from home so I wouldn’t expect a turnaround next week from a team that’s won only 2 games at home in the Premier League so far this season.
Atletico made the most of a poor Spurs side on the night. You have to give credit to Atletico for punishing every mistake that Spurs made and they look really strong in this competition at the minute, La Liga is gone already for Simeone’s side so they only really have this competition to play for along with already being in the Copa Del Rey final. The Champions League has has allured Diego Simeone since he’s been at Atletico losing two finals to Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016, it’s probably going to be Barcelona in the quarter-finals if they can get past Newcastle next week and we’ve already seen Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid over two legs as Atletico squeezed past Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate. Atletico look deadly on the attack as Alvarez and Griezmann both scored again today as the hat-trick hero from the last round Sorloth had to sit on the bench, they’ll look to finish the tie early next week in London and look to the quarter-finals in a few weeks.
What a night for Antoine Griezmann. Griezmann has been one of my favourite players over the last 10 years and it was a joy to watch him roll back the years tonight in a masterclass of a performance. It’s such a shame that he’s only won the Europa League with Atletico Madrid when he’s arguably their greatest ever player and I hope for his sake he can at least get the Copa Del Rey in April against Real Sociedad. My favourite part of his performance tonight was the touch to Alvarez for the fifth goal, just pure class from someone who could have moved to Orlando City if he wanted, he clearly still has so much to offer this Atletico side and I hope he gets the dream send off in the summer if this is to be his last season in Europe with Atletico Madrid.
Tie over already? You’d imagine that this tie is already finished with how bad Spurs are playing at the minute and surely this is the last time we see Igor Tudor manage Spurs if their board has any care whatsoever to see their team not get battered every game, their full focus now has to be on not going down in the Premier League and the only way that’s going to happen is with another manager at the helm. It could get nasty next week at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and I wouldn’t be surprised if the stadium is half-full even before kick-off with how bad Spurs are at home, why would you even turn up if you already know the result? That’s not to say that they shouldn’t at least give it a shot next week, if they get the first goal early then why not try and at least put some pressure on that Atletico backline. We’ll see next Wednesday how it goes, hopefully there is some fight left in that Spurs side for their sake.