Calamity ‘keeper Antonin Kinsky was hooked after just 17 minutes as Tottenham suffered a Champions League meltdown in Madrid.
Interim boss Igor Tudor recalled Kinsky for his first game since October but two early mistakes by the goalkeeper helped Atletico sprint into a 3-0 lead inside a quarter of an hour.
It was a shambolic opening by Spurs with several players losing their footing, and a slip in defence by Micky van de Ven gifted the hosts their second goal.
Kinsky looked distraught as he trudged down the tunnel. Senior substitutes Conor Gallagher, Joao Palhinha and Dominic Solanke all jogged behind to console him after a nightmare Champions League debut for Spurs. Manager Tudor did not acknowledge him, a decision which was condemned by TNT Sports pundits Joe Hart and Steve McManaman.
Kinsky had slipped while passing for the first goal and completely miskicked the ball to give away the third. With Atletico 3-0 up early doors, goalscorers Marcos Llorente, Antoien Griezmann, and Julian Alvarez could hardly believe their luck.
Ally McCoist said on TNT Sports after the first goal: ‘It’s a disaster, absolute disaster for the goalkeeper. I don’t know whether he goes to change his mind or what goes through his head, but it just got away from him, and boy did he capitalise. No mercy at all. Beautiful finish from Llorente.
‘That’s just horrific goalkeeping, absolutely horrific goalkeeping.’
After the third, commentator Darren Fletcher added: ‘You can’t come back from this if you’re Kinsky.
‘That’s on the manager, as much as it is on Kinsky. The last time I saw a goalie have a nightmare like that was [Loris] Karius for Liverpool. That affected him for a long time. I actually can’t believe what I’ve seen.’
Joe Hart added: ‘I’ve been trying to make sense of it. I’m heartbroken for the lad. I know it’s a tough school, Champions League, important game. Before the game, he [Tudor] had an opportunity to give us a reason why he had put him in goal.
‘Was he getting an opportunity tonight? Was he just filling the gloves for one game? That felt like the message given to him. I’m not making excuses for the lad. He’s had a horrible 14 minutes, the slip and that third goal was everything he didn’t want to happen.
‘I don’t even know what to say. I’ve seen the lot. I’m just heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken for the lad. This Tottenham team is all over the shop.’
Hart added at half-time: ‘My heart dropped. Kinsky just slipping, we’ve seen a lot of it tonight. Ruthless from Atletico Madrid. It was an awful start six minutes in.
‘His confidence had evaporated. It’s such a difficult pass, he gets it all wrong, left foot onto right foot. It broke my heart. He’s had a bad 14 minutes, even the stadium is feeling sorry for him. Tudor does not even acknowledge him. I’m flabbergasted at that.
‘Yes he’s had a bad moment. Has he done it on purpose? Of course he hasn’t. Stand by your team. Send a message. But he stands there and acts like nothing has happened.’
Steve McManaman added: ‘That’s man-management at its very, very worst. Three or four of the players try and hug him. That poor goalkeeper has had a terrible night after being chosen by his own manager, and for his manager to not even acknowledge him, to not go over and say, “sorry, don’t worry about it”, put his arm round him, do something to affect the situation, that is cold as cold can be.’
Vicario consoled his team-mate as they exchanged places on the sideline but he didn’t get off to a great start either.
Tottenham were 4-0 down within a few minutes after Robin Le Normand tipped the ball over the line.
The only team to concede four goals quicker in a Champions League match quicker was Dinamo Zagreb away at Real Madrid in 2011.
Mistakes are following Tottenham like a bad smell; Vicario had been dropped because he made two huge blunders against Crystal Palace in Spurs’ 3-1 defeat at home last Thursday.
Tudor had already lost his first three matches coming into the Champions League visit to Madrid and the performance is likely to end his reign in north London.
The only mitigation for Kinsky is that Spurs were mistake-addled all around at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Their players appeared to have inappropriate footwear for the occasion, with several slipping and losing their footing on the wet turf.
At one stage, Kevin Danso even checked his studs in bewilderment after taking a tumble.
