Yet another miserable Tottenham night was compounded at the very last moment, as Cristian Romero slumped to his haunches following a nasty collision with teammate João Palhinha.
Tottenham's captain, who made his first appearance since he was sent off at Old Trafford last month, was powerless to stop Spurs from falling to an utterly bizarre 5-2 defeat.
Antonín Kinsky's nightmare Champions League debut lasted just 17 minutes, as he made two costly mistakes on Atlético Madrid's greasy surface to gift the hosts a pair of goals. In between Kinsky's howlers, Micky van de Ven's slip allowed Antoine Griezmann to run through and score a second.
> Very suspicious how Atlético Madrid’s pitch worked on their favor against Tottenham exactly like it did vs Barcelona.
>
> — Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) [March 10, 2026](https://twitter.com/RafaelH117/status/2031503943360991692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Tottenham were 4-0 down inside 22 minutes, but somewhat recovered to ensure it wasn't the grandest of humiliations in the Spanish capital. Still, few have much interest in next week's second leg, primarily because of our perilous Premier League position.
There's a chance Igor Tudor's broken outfit are in the drop zone by the time our six-pointer with Nottingham Forest rolls around before the international break. When our relegation rivals visit N17 in likely much higher spirits, [Spurs may have endured a remarkable eight consecutive defeats](https://hotspurhq.com/tottenham-sunk-to-an-unprecedented-low-after-surreal-atletico-madrid-defeat-01kke3geys5h).
Cristian Romero's status up in the air for Anfield trip
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Romero clattered into João Palhinha at the end of Tuesday's surreal defeat. | JAVIER SORIANO/GettyImages
Up next for Tudor's side is a daunting trip to Anfield. Arne Slot's champions, in truth, aren't particularly good, but it's nonetheless a ground we seldom enjoy any success at.
We haven't won on the red half of Mersey since Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modrić were in town back in 2011, with the pair of majestic midfielders scoring in a 2-0 victory. Liverpool have claimed 12 wins from 16 in the aftermath.
Thus, this team needs all the help it can get, and being without Romero, as inconsistent as he's been this season, would be a big blow. His status is in doubt because of a horrible clash of heads with Palhinha that left both men writhing in pain just before the full-time whistle on Tuesday night.
Palhinha was seemingly worse off and was withdrawn from proceedings, while Romero attempted to see the last few moments out, which he couldn't do. We haven't yet received an update regarding the statuses of both players, but the pair will miss Sunday's game if they suffered concussions on Tuesday night, per the Premier League's concussion protocol.
Such rules aren't followed quite as strictly as they are in the National Football League (NFL), but a more concerted effort has been made in recent years to protect players from head injuries. Spurs will hopefully follow the six-stage process, which culminates in a return to action. Our desperate situation at the foot of the table is ultimately irrelevant when considering the long-term health of Palhinha and Romero.
With Van de Ven suspended and Romero potentially out, Tudor, assuming he sticks with a back three, could wheel out a backline comprising Kevin Danso, Archie Gray and Radu Drăgușin. Good Lord.