'He made the mistakes, not the manager!' - Antonin Kinsky blasted for reaction to early substitution in Tottenham's loss to Atletico Madrid

The Czech Republic international, who arrived at Tottenham from Slavia Prague in January 2025, endured a European debut that will go down in the history books for all the wrong reasons. Spurs conceded three goals in less than 15 minutes, marking the earliest a team had ever fallen three goals behind in a Champions League knockout match. Kinsky’s errors, including a mishit pass and a poor clearance, forced interim boss Igor Tudor to turn to Guglielmo Vicario inside the first 20 minutes. He appeared visibly distraught as he trudged off the pitch, sparking a debate about Tudor's man-management skills. However, former Premier League striker Deeney has led the charge in defending the coaching staff, insisting that the blame lies solely with the man between the sticks.

Speaking on CBS Sports, ex-Watford striker Deeney stated: “We’ve all been subbed when a player gets sent off. You sit next to your team, you ride it out together. He’s having a poor time, you get dragged… by the way, he made the mistakes, not the manager, no one else. Manager makes the change, you have to sit with your team.” 

When asked if Kinsky was right to hide his emotions from the cameras, Deeney doubled down: “No because we’re in a situation where as a team and a group we’re in the trenches now. You don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself, you don’t have time to go and gather your thoughts, we’re all in this.”

Several former goalkeepers jumped to Kinsky's defence and questioned Tudor's man-management. Joe Hart was particularly vocal, slamming the interim Spurs boss after he seemed to ignore the Czech goalkeeper as he exited the fray. The former England shot-stopper said: "He walks past Tudor - and Tudor doesn’t even acknowledge him. If that’s man-management, I'm flabbergasted. He stands there and pretends it hasn’t happened." The sentiment was echoed by Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, who claimed that Tudor had "absolutely destroyed his career."

To make matters worse for Spurs, the Atletico round of 16 first-leg clash resulted in a double injury blow, as both Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha are now doubts for this weekend's  Premier League meeting with Liverpool after the pair were involved in a nasty collision. The potential loss of Tudor's defensive leaders comes at the worst possible time as the club prepares for a trip to Anfield while already missing the suspended Micky van de Ven.

"It is incredible," Tudor remarked in disbelief at his side's misfortune. "We finished the game and we see the two players [come off] and there is Micky [Van de Ven], who is out with a red card [for Liverpool match]. It looks like everything is against us. It's incredible."