Tottenham Hotspur produced a fantastic display at home in the first half as they went into the interval with a deserved 1-0 lead against Atletico Madrid.
Igor Tudor’s side are still two goals behind on aggregate (5-3) but the Croatian will take a lot of encouragement from the way his side fared in the first 45 minutes.
With Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero back in the team, Tottenham switched to a back three once again, as opposed to the 4-4-2 they used against Liverpool.
Randal Kolo Muani got the solitary goal of the first half as he got his head to a fantastic cross from Mathys Tel.
However, it was another player who earned special praise from Michael Dawson.
Vicario keeps Tottenham in the tie
Tel was Tottenham’s standout player in the first half. Starting on the left side of attack alongside Kolo Muani and Xavi Simons, the Frenchman ran the show and got five shots on target.
He also got himself an assist to continue his fine run of form in recent weeks.
It was Guglielmo Vicario, however, who was singled out for special praise by Dawson. In the closing stages of the first half, the Italian goalkeeper was called into action and delivered in style.
Julian Alvarez beat his man and launched a shot from distance, which appeared to momentarily wrong-foot Vicario as it took a wicked deflection from Romero.
However, the enigmatic goalkeeper somehow parried the ball away to keep his side in the game.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Dawson claimed Vicario redeemed himself with his stunning save as he has been off-colour in recent weeks.
He said, “Vicario has made a TOP save. He’s had his critics in recent weeks, certainly not for this one. Atletico are on top at this moment in time.”
Atletico finished the half stronger of the two sides, but Tottenham deservedly went into the interval with a 1-0 lead as they were applauded off the pitch by the home fans who seem to have found their voice recently.
Huge moment for Vicario
Vicario has been linked with Inter Milan and Juventus as his Tottenham future remains in doubt.
He was dropped for Antonin Kinsky in the first leg, but we all know how the Czech goalkeeper fared in Spain, so as brutal as it sounds, he is unlikely to feature again this season.
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That said, having Vicario back in form could be priceless for Tottenham as they are still in the thick of the relegation battle.
No one knows what the future holds for the Italian, but if these are his last few games for the club, he will look to sign off on a high. And judging by his first-half wonder-save, he is clearly determined to do exactly that.
