Antonin Kinsky endured a forgettable Champions League debut in Tottenham Hotspur’s miserable 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham Hotspur, still without a Premier League win in 2026, have slipped to 16th in the table and find themselves embroiled in a relegation battle, as they are teetering just one point above the bottom three with nine games left to play.
Igor Tudor’s most recent setback came in the Champions League as his Spurs side were trounced 5-2 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday, conceding the first four goals in the opening 22 minutes of an embarrassing first-half display. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, making his Champions League debut, was at fault for two of Tottenham’s three goals inside 16 minutes. He was subbed after 17 minutes with the Lilywhites trailing 3-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
The young shot-stopper was consoled by several teammates as he made his way off the field. After the game, goalkeepers David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois sent sympathetic messages to Antonin Kinsky, while several pundits slammed Igor Tudor’s handling of the 22-year-old on his Champions League debut.
Former Belgium goalkeeper gives piece of advice to Antonin Kinsky after Atletico Madrid debacle
Former Belgium goalkeeper Filip De Wilde has now joined the bandwagon of sending support to Kinsky. The 61-year-old, who experienced something similar in his career during the Euro 2000, feels there is only way forward for the Tottenham glovesman after his awful Champions League maiden outing is to play again right away.
“Admitting your own mistakes helps. Support from a goalkeeper like De Gea does too. But the best therapy is simply to be back in goal this weekend,” Filip De Wilde said in an interview with Belgian outlet Het Nieuwsblad.
“I myself had a good campaign with Anderlecht after Euro 2000. That’s really the only remedy: playing again immediately.”
Antonin Kinsky unlikely to feature again for Tottenham this season
It was heartbreaking to see what happened with Kinsky against Atletico Madrid. Having waited for several months for his opportunity, he floundered when it came and couldn’t repay the faith shown by his gaffer. First of all, the Czech Republic goalkeeper shouldn’t have started such a big game in a hostile environment, so he cannot be entirely blamed for the horror show in the Spanish capital.
That said, it is extremely unlikely that Kinsky will play again for his team this season. The 22-year-old’s confidence has been shot to pieces, and with Tottenham needing to treat the remaining nine league games as finals, Tudor will stick with Guglielmo Vicario in goal, even though he hasn’t pulled up trees of late.
Also, latest reports suggest the Czech Republic under-21 international will seek a loan move away from Tottenham in the summer to rebuild his career after the midweek disaster. And the Spurs officials are unlikely to stand in his way, which shows even the club are open to a temporary separation for the betterment of the youngster’s career.