Tottenham's head coach Igor Tudor looks out from the bench prior to the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
March 10, 2026 - 4:53 PM
MADRID (AP) — Beleaguered Tottenham manager Igor Tudor acknowledged “everything is going wrong” after his team slumped to a sixth straight loss for the first time in its nearly 144-year history.
A 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League’s round of 16 on Tuesday was a new low in a woeful season for Tottenham, which is only one point above the relegation zone in the Premier League.
Tudor took over on Feb. 14 as the replacement for the fired Thomas Frank and has overseen four losses in a row, failing in his task to rebuild confidence among Tottenham’s players.
No previous Spurs manager had lost his first four matches in charge.
“We are very fragile, very weak,” Tudor said.
“It’s not about me,” he added when asked if the club would stick with him. “We need to stay calm. Less talking.”
Tudor said what was happening to Tottenham was “very strange, very unusual.”
“It’s difficult to explain this,” said the Croatian, who faced criticism for selecting Antonin Kinsky as goalkeeper for his Champions League debut — only to substitute him in the 17th minute after making two mistakes leading to goals.
To make matters worse, Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha clashed heads late in the game and both had to come off, leaving Tottenham with nine players. Romero, the team’s captain, tried to play on but eventually left the field, clearly shaken.
Both players may now be forced out of the league trip to Liverpool on Sunday, when center back Micky van de Ven will be missing because of suspension.
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