Antonin Kinsky has emerged as the talk of the town after his error-strewn display for Tottenham Hotspur in the 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid.
The Czech goalkeeper earned a rare start in place of Guglielmo Vicario, but things quickly went downhill for him as he crumbled under the pressure of a big European night.
Kinsky first slipped and gave the ball away to Antoine Griezmann, who teed up Marcos Llorente for the opening goal of the game.
Moments later – with Tottenham already 2-0 down after Griezmann got his name on the scoresheet – the 22-year-old’s night went from bad to worse, much like Tottenham’s season.
He was under no pressure whatsoever but inexplicably gave the ball away to Julian Alvarez, who walked the ball into an empty net.
Kinsky was substituted after just 17 minutes on the clock as Vicario took his place between the sticks for Tottenham.
And now, former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has jumped to the young goalkeeper defence after arguably the toughest night of his career.
De Gea tells Kinsky to keep his head up
The young goalkeeper’s Champions League debut turned out to be disastrous as Atletico made him pay for his careless errors.
Kinsky went straight down the tunnel after being substituted, with the likes of Joao Palhinha, Conor Gallagher and Dominic Solanke following him to seemingly comfort him.
And after his dismal display, he was unsurprisingly mocked on social media by the footballing fraternity as his dream night ended in heartbreak.
To make matters worse, Jamie O’Hara launched an astonishing attack on Kinsky, claiming that the youngster is nowhere near good enough to start games of such magnitude.
However, De Gea showed his class by sending a message of support to the youngster.
“No one who hasn’t been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position,” wrote De Gea on X.
“Keep your head up and you will go again.”
What next for Kinsky?
It’s been just over a year since Kinsky joined the club and it’s safe to say it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster for the young goalkeeper.
He made his debut in the Carabao Cup against Liverpool and delivered a magnificent display between the sticks as he won the Man of the Match award.
However, a few weeks later, Tottenham were eliminated from the tie as the Reds turned on the style in the second leg.
Since then, Kinsky has only featured sparingly, with his other two appearances this season coming in 2025 in the Carabao Cup.
Vicario has had his fair share of doubters this season, but after recent events, there is no doubt the Italian will keep his place between the sticks for the rest of the games in the Premier League this season.
You have got to feel sorry for Kinsky as performances like this could knock the stuffing out of young players.
Parallels could be drawn with Loris Karius’ display for Liverpool in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid, but let’s just hope Kinsky puts it behind him quickly as he still has a long way to go in his career.
