Igor Tudor got his first win in charge of Tottenham Hotspur as they secured a 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid.
However, despite the result, his side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League as Diego Simeone’s side triumphed 7-5 on aggregate.
Despite the result over two legs, it was a step in the right direction for Tottenham as they produced a fighting display to secure a deserved victory.
With five goals scored, the game wasn’t short of drama, particularly in the passage of play that led to Julian Alvarez’s goal in the second half.
Tudor was booked for protesting, and it’s safe to say he wasn’t having the referee’s decision at the time.
Tudor booked for dissent
After Randal Kolo Muani broke the deadlock in the first half, Tottenham looked like they could fight their way back into the tie.
However, Alvarez equalised in the second half as Atletico countered swiftly to puncture the home side’s hopes of a comeback.
The goal was well worked, but Xavi Simons went down at the edge of the Atleti penalty area and looked like he was fouled.
However, the referee didn’t spot the infringement, while VAR also didn’t intervene as the away side counter quickly to restore parity.
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Tudor was visibly fuming as he protested the referee’s decision, while loud boos rang around the stadium. The Croatian was spotted on camera screaming, ‘It’s a foul’ multiple times and received a yellow card for his troubles for excessive protesting.
Tudor thanks Tottenham fans for support
Tottenham built on their 1-1 draw against Liverpool and delivered another superb display, although they couldn’t do much to avoid elimination as the damage was done in the first leg.
Nevertheless, the Croatian thanked the Tottenham fans for their support, who were in full voice from start to finish.
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“It’s nice, the sensation, the feelings are mixed,” said Tudor in his post-match press conference.
“We’re out but one very good team on the pitch, one very good performance of the players and energy.
“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.”
Tottenham will now prepare for the visit of Nottingham Forest on Sunday in a game that could define the course of their Premier League survival hopes.
If they secure a win, they could move further clear of the drop zone while also damaging their opponents’ hopes of survival, which is exactly what they’ll aim to do.
