Atlético Madrid got on top of Tottenham Hotspur from the opening whistle.
The red-and-white press swarmed Tottenham’s back four and immediately placed immense pressure on inexperienced goalkeeper Antonín Kinský, who was making his first appearance since a 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United last October. Kinský’s first slip led directly to Marcos Llorente’s opener, and less than ten minutes later he lost his footing again, allowing Julián Alvarez to tap in Atlético’s third goal of the night.
Poor communication in the Tottenham defense had allowed Antoine Griezmann to pounce for the second goal.
The Czech international was promptly substituted after just fifteen minutes, tying the record for the earliest goalkeeper substitution in the Champions League knockout stages.
Robin Le Normand headed in Atlético’s fourth, a goal that required confirmation from goal line technology. La Araña added Atlético’s fifth after a sequence that began with a brilliant save from Jan Oblak and continued with an even better touch from Griezmann, who flicked a pass over his shoulder to launch Alvarez onto a scintillating run.
Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke scored goals of their own during a wild first leg in Madrid, as they took advantage of sloppy defending and an inaccurate goal kick. But Los Colchoneros will gladly take a three goal advantage to London, though it easily could have been more.
Atlético carry a 5–2 aggregate lead to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next Wednesday as they aim to secure a place in the Champions League quarterfinals. The result also improved Diego Simeone’s already remarkable home record in Champions League knockout matches to 14 wins, six draws and zero losses.
Atlético’s attacking frenzy
What a fun first 20 minutes of the match. It felt like Atlético might get into double digits on the night based on how sloppy Tottenham looked at the back and how confident the Colchoneros looked at the front; Atlético set a record for fastest to score three goals in a Champions League knockout match.
Let’s talk about the goal scorers. Marcos Llorente simply loves to score against English clubs. Five of his nine goals in Champions League have been against English clubs. Griezmann appears to be playing some of the best football of his career at 34 years old. Tonight was a special milestone, as the Frenchman surpassed Neymar in total goals scored in the Champions League, 44-43. Perhaps the biggest statement of Griezmann’s night were his post-match quotes saying that he’s not going anywhere…for now, at least.
Finally, La Araña’s brace. Respectfully, I probably could have tapped in that ball given away by Kinský, but a goal is a goal. The real masterpiece was the run from the Argentine to get his second goal on the night. Alvarez made a great run following a beautiful Griezmann first touch and showed his clinical finishing ability.
Julián is flying in the Champions League this season. In fact, he’s surpassed Diego Costa (9 G/A) as the Atleti player with the most combined goals and assists in a Champions League season with 10.
What’s a clean sheet?
Nothing is ever easy here. Instead of traveling to London with a four-goal advantage, Atlético conceded a sloppy late goal to Solanke and now carry only a three-goal lead on aggregate, giving Tottenham a glimmer of hope next Wednesday night.
Of course, beggars cannot be choosers. If you had told most Atleti supporters beforehand that the Rojiblancos would be three goals ahead heading into the second leg, they would have taken that without hesitation. The frustration comes from how it happened.
Los Rojiblancos once again fell into the bad habit they have shown several times this season by conceding shortly after scoring or extending their lead. It has become clear that this is not the Atlético de Madrid of old that could lock opponents in defensive misery for 90 minutes. In just 11 Champions League matches, Atlético have conceded 21 goals and have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of those games. Outside of the Champions League, Oblak has recorded just one clean sheet in his last seven matches while conceding 13 goals.
Atlético’s defensive discipline remains a major concern. They were fortunate that Tottenham committed three consecutive errors in the span of fifteen minutes, but what if they had not? The goals from Le Normand and Julián Alvarez were well-deserved, but if you remove the other three fortunate goals from Atlético’s tally, the red and white side would be heading to London with only a one-goal advantage, or possibly none at all.
So what went wrong with the communication tonight? Simeone clearly made a tactical decision to win the midfield battle by shifting Marcos Llorente from right back into midfield and bringing in Le Normand. However, that adjustment meant that Koke, the longtime orchestrator of Atlético’s rhythm in both attack and defense, was left on the bench. It has been evident throughout the season that this team functions best with Hancko, Pubill, and Koke positioned centrally on the pitch.
Johnny Cardoso has shown a strong run of form recently, particularly in the Champions League, but his relative inexperience still leaves him a step behind Koke in terms of control and experience. Koke’s best years may be behind him, and he likely has only a season or two left with the club. The hope now is that Johnny proves to be a quick learner.
Looking to London
For the second time in as many months, Atlético Madrid will take a multi-goal advantage into the second leg at their opponent’s stadium. Atlético flirted with danger against Barcelona, as the Catalan club nearly completed a comeback from 0-4 down. There are quite a few similarities between that tie and the first leg against Tottenham; the biggest one is that Atlético leave the match feeling like they could have had more.
Anyone who watched the Copa del Rey first leg can attest that Los Colchoneros could have scored five or six against Barcelona’s high defensive line. In the Champions League against Tottenham, the margin could easily have been four or even five goals if Atlético had maintained their defensive focus. The stakes are highest in the Champions League, where success in the competition is coveted by clubs all across Europe. It did not come back to haunt Atlético against Barcelona and it is unlikely to do so against Tottenham, assuming they remain focused and take care of business next Wednesday.
Still, it raises the question of how long Simeone can afford for his Jekyll-and-Hyde team to have two faces.
This is not meant as an insult to Tottenham, and perhaps it is stating the obvious, but they are not FC Barcelona. On top of that, Tottenham are dealing with a very real relegation threat and have suffered some of the worst injury luck imaginable this season. That situation is compounded amid Richarlison’s absence from the second leg of this tie due to yellow card accumulation.
Simeone and his players still have work to do, though truthfully not a great deal. One more goal would likely put the tie out of reach. The question now is whether Simeone will push for that goal or sit back, as his team did against Barcelona, and attempt to keep that elusive clean sheet. For now, though, it is best to enjoy the win and the jubilation that comes with it, because next up on the schedule is everyone’s favorite fixture: a home match against Getafe.
