Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League run ended at the round of 16, even after a 3-2 win at home against Atletico Madrid. The aggregate score finished 7-5 in favour of the Spanish side.
Spurs faced a tough challenge after losing 5-2 in the first leg in Madrid. Randal Kolo Muani gave Tottenham an early lead with a header. Atletico quickly responded through Julián Alvarez, but Xavi Simons restored Spurs’ advantage with a curling shot just five minutes later.
Simons later scored a penalty to complete the 3-2 win on the night, giving manager Igor Tudor his first victory as Tottenham head coach.
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Speaking to TNT Sports, Tudor said:
“The feelings are mixed of course. We are out, but it is a sensation of a very good team on the pitch. One very good performance from a lot of players.
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.
It was important to get the winning feeling back. It was nice to at least take the victory.”
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario added:
“We fought hard. We did a lot of running – we kept running until the last second.
There are a lot of positives to take from every aspect. It gives us confidence and we are proud of what we did.”
Despite the exit, Spurs showed attacking intent and improved cohesion. Tudor will hope to carry that into Sunday’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest, a team just one point below them in the table.
Spurs must now focus on staying in the top flight, using the energy and confidence from Wednesday’s win to tackle their relegation fight.