Antonin Kinsky’s Champions League debut was supposed to be a glimpse of Tottenham’s future. Instead, it became a brutal indictment of the present, and of the man who chose him.

Thrown in ahead of established No1 Guglielmo Vicario for a last-16 first leg at Atletico Madrid, the 22-year-old goalkeeper lasted just 17 agonising minutes. Twice he lost his footing on the slick Metropolitano surface. Twice Atletico pounced, with Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez effectively walking the ball into an unguarded net. After the second calamity, Kinsky lay prone, head in hands, as teammates stared in disbelief.

The errors were his, but the decision was Igor Tudor’s. The interim head coach had promoted a keeper whose senior minutes this season amounted to two Carabao Cup ties into the most pressurised fixture of Tottenham’s campaign. With Spurs already fragile after a run of defeats, it was a high-wire gamble that snapped almost immediately.

Tudor defended the call as logical given the scrutiny on Vicario, insisting Kinsky was “a very good goalkeeper.” Yet his response to the unfolding disaster only deepened the sense of misjudgment. After the second goal, he abandoned his own experiment, hauling Kinsky off for Vicario before the game had even settled. As the substitute jogged on, the starter trudged past his manager without so much as a glance, let alone a consoling word.

Television pundits were scathing, describing the episode as “the ultimate humiliation” and accusing Tudor of failing in his basic duty of care. On the pitch, it was left to opposition players and Spurs teammates to console the young keeper.

Vicario, restored in crisis, produced several saves that prevented an even heavier defeat in a 5-2 loss that leaves Tottenham clinging to faint hope in the return leg. In attack, Spurs were competitive, matching Atletico’s shot count and capitalising on a rare Jan Oblak mistake. But any positives were drowned out by the defensive chaos and the wider narrative of a team unravelling.

Tudor’s record now reads four games, four defeats, 14 goals conceded. The Kinsky experiment was intended as a bold reset. Instead, it has intensified scrutiny on a coach whose selections, man-management and ability to steady a listing season are all under fierce question.