Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was substituted after just 17 minutes of their Champions League last-16 first leg against Atletico Madrid after his mistakes led to two goals for the home side.
Kinsky was a surprise pick in the starting XI ahead of Spurs’ usual No 1 Guglielmo Vicario, making his first appearance since October.
The 22-year-old was hauled off by Spurs interim head coach Igor Tudor before the 20 minute mark, however, with Spurs already trailing 3-0 and the goalkeeper at fault for Atletico’s first and third goals.
Only three goalkeepers have been substituted earlier in Champions League history, the most recent of which being Peter Gulacsi for RB Leipzig in 2022.
A nightmare moment for Kinsky on his debut as his mistake leads to Llorente’s opener for Atlético Madrid ⚽️@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/SsHpJxYNIz
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 10, 2026
For U.S. viewers:
Marcos Llorente pounces on a disastrous error from Antonín Kinský and punishes Tottenham instantly 😱🎁 pic.twitter.com/1LvW43gPoY
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 10, 2026
After just six minutes, Kinsky slipped while taking a goal kick, gifting the home side possession on the edge of the box, and Marcos Llorente finished from Julian Alvarez’s pass to open the scoring.
Kinsky’s second mistake came as he mis-kicked a simple back pass, allowing Julian Alvarez to effectively walk the ball into the empty net.
A second mistake from Kinský allows Álvarez to make it three for Atlético Madrid inside 15 minutes ⚡️@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/zeWZlu53Lf
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 10, 2026
Tudor immediately called for the benched Vicario, and Kinsky was applauded off the pitch by the majority of the Wanda Metropolitano. The goalkeeper headed straight down the tunnel with no acknowledgement from his coach.
Within minutes, Vicario had conceded Spurs’ fourth, with Robin Le Normand nodding over the line after the Italian had made a sharp save.
Pedro Porro pulled one back for Spurs a few minutes later to make it 4-1 and give the visitors a degree of hope.
How did the football world react?
“It broke my heart,” former Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart said to TNT. “He’s had a bad 14 minutes, there’s no getting away from it.
“Even the stadium is feeling sorry for him. Tudor doesn’t even acknowledge his goalie. If that’s man management, then I’m flabbergasted. He’s acting like that isn’t the 14th minute. That doesn’t happen at any level. Not even Sunday League.”
Steve McManaman echoed Hart’s reaction on the same coverage: “That’s man management at its very worst. He’s managed not to even acknowledge him … that is cold as cold can be.”
“I blame the manager,” Jamie Carragher said on Paramount. “He put him there. He’s as much at fault as anyone.”
“No one who hasn’t been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position,” Fiorentina and former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea said on social media. “Keep your head up and you will go again.”
A disastrous collapse
Analysis by Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Elias Burke
The Atletico faithful were in full voice well before kick-off, but by the time Julian Alvarez put their team three ahead inside 15 minutes, thanks to calamitous mistakes from Antonin Kinsky and Micky van de Ven, the Metropolitano reached fever pitch.
Understandably, the travelling Tottenham support stood motionless in the top tier above the Spurs goal, in complete disbelief in how Spurs had collapsed so disastrously, all entirely of their own doing.
Then, when Igor Tudor substituted Kinsky — who was making his first start since the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup — the Atletico crowd whistled the decision. And if anyone may have thought it was in solidarity with the Czech goalkeeper, Atletico then loudly whistled Guglielmo Vicario every time he touched the ball, hoping he’d make a similar mistake.
