Four days after emerging from pointlessness, Igor Tudor is now no longer winless. His interim reign of error at Tottenham is finally finding its purpose, eight days on from the Croatian appearing a complete and utter lost cause.
Spurs are out of the Champions League but akin to fellow relegation candidates Nottingham Forest, there is the valid argument that Europe could be a very unwanted distraction from survival. With Spurs fans in full voice, still in their seats at the full-time whistle, victory on the night feels far more important than defeat in a tie.
Even without the milestone win, there was a sense of hope and pride that was attached to the atmosphere during the contest’s closing stages. “Oh When The Spurs” belting out from stand to stand, you wouldn’t have thought this was a team three goals down and on the verge of being dumped out of Europe. Purely from a performance perspective, a corner had been turned.
“We’re out but one very good team on the pitch, one very good performance of the players and energy,” Tudor said. “It was really nice that the fans recognised that the team did everything they could do. They were with us from the start and I thank them for that.”
There was a semblance after Sunday’s draw at Anfield that, with Tudor on the touchline but not necessarily conscious at the wheel, Spurs were beginning to stage their own rescue mission. Their players had shown some fight. Tottenham couldn’t pat themselves on the back too heavily, of course – that first result in five games under the Croatian was hardly to do with Tudor’s tactical acumen and more came from an ever-beleaguered Liverpool’s persistent inability to finish well. It was nevertheless a baby step in the right direction.
The visit of Atletico now acted as a litmus test to see if they were toddling on the road to recovery. Three goals down after their catastrophe in the Spanish capital, a remontada looked dead on arrival. Instead, this felt like a free hit, their last of what is probably the most important close-season in the club’s history.
Perhaps that’s why Tudor opted for more inconsistency in his team selection, who looked like he was reverting back to the three-back system that shipped four in 22 minutes at the Metropolitano. Instead, Radu Dragusin slotted in at right-back, with Pedro Porro moving to right wing in a 4-2-3-1 setup – the fourth formation Tudor has utilised in six outings.
Yet in this setup, something began to click for Tottenham going forward. Tudor’s men no longer looked flat or devoid of attacking inspiration. Spurs looked like they had a gameplan and for the first time in his reign, multiple Tudor decisions were paying off at once. “You work, you work, you work and then there is a game that shows our work,” the interim boss said. “The players really believed, that was the key.”
Porro was a live wire in his more advanced position, Archie Gray and Pape Matar Sarr starred in the double pivot, while Randal Kolo Muani and Xavi Simons – restored to the side after their influential Anfield cameos – made their starts count with goals.
Kolo Muani delivered Spurs a warranted breakthrough on the half-hour mark, providing the header to match countryman Mathys Tel’s inch-perfect cross. To this point, three of Tottenham’s six goals under Tudor were at least in part down to defensive errors, including their second against Atleti last week and their equaliser at Liverpool. This one could only be pinned on the quality of their own.
The same could be said for Tottenham’s second, which came five minutes after a piece of individual brilliance from Julian Alvarez briefly snuffed out the newfound belief that was being felt on White Hart Lane. Xavi Simons, with a fire lit by a VAR call that deemed him not to be fouled in the build-up to Atletico’s equaliser, beautifully bent home from range in the 52nd minute.
And it was the Dutchman’s trickery that delivered Tottenham a first win of 2026, a first at home since 6 December. He won the late penalty and converted with aplomb, a consolation in the tie but potentially crucial to Tottenham’s resurrection.
Spurs still looked porous at the back. They surrendered a lead twice, Atletico’s second seeing David Hancko completely brush off Djed Spence to head home an Alvarez corner to kill all hope of a comeback 15 minutes from time. Spence regressed into the “Spursy” habits of the away leg moments later, being robbed of the ball at the restart and giving Alvarez a clear run on goal. It would’ve been deja vu if not from the goalkeeping heroics of Guglielmo Vicario, whose impressive display can only highlight how detrimental Tudor’s gamble on Antonin Kinsky proved to their chances in this tie.
But without Jan Oblak down the other end, that unlikely remontada could have become a serious possibility. Tel and Porro both had huge chances to reduce the aggregate deficit to one either side of half-time, but neither could beat the imposing Slovenian.
Alas, there was no miracle on this night, but maybe that was best for Tottenham. They need full focus on maintaining their Premier League status because after this free hit, Spurs face eight cup finals, now with a reminder of the winning feeling. Tudor says Sunday’s pivotal meeting with Forest “will decide nothing” – in reality it could change everything. This will be their last Champions League game for a while – the only remaining Tottenham objective is to avoid the Championship.
