Atletico Madrid run riot as Tottenham Hotspur implode - Was that the craziest first 30 minutes in UEFA Champions League history?

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Atletico Madrid were just three minutes short of breaking a UEFA Champions League record when they raced into a 4-0 lead over Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16 on Tuesday night at the Metropolitano Stadium. For Igor Tudor, it was not just the scoreline that was the problem but the way in which his side allowed the Spaniards to take advantage of some striking defensive errors.

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Atletico Madrid raced into a 4-1 lead over Tottenham Hotspur in one of the most remarkable first periods in UEFA Champions League history.

Chaos continued for Spurs as they travelled to Spain for what they had hoped would be a chance to build momentum and take a break from their Premier League travails.

Spurs were 4-0 down after just 22 minutes, the second quickest a side has conceded that margin in Champions League history.

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Here is how a wild first half unfolded.

6’ - Atletico Madrid 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Llorente)

Antonin Kinsky, making his debut, attempted to play the ball out from the back - as is the modern fashion - but haplessly and unfortunately slipped and lost possession immediately to the opposition.

The ball was shifted right to Julian Alvarez, who smartly found Marcos Llorente and he coolly slotted past the out-of-position debutant.

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14’ - Atletico Madrid 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Griezmann)

Eight minutes later, defensive frailty and an individual error struck again. Micky van de Ven, so often a lynchpin at the back for Tottenham, slipped and let the ball run across him, allowing Antoine Griezmann to power through.

He eyed up and then calmly slotted the ball past Kinsky, whose match was going from bad to worse in short order.

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15’ - Atletico Madrid 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Alvarez)

Less than two minutes later, Kinsky’s nightmare start got almost unfathomably worse when the ball was rolled back to him. All that was required was for the young stopper to roll the ball on its way or for him to put his foot through it and clear the danger.

Instead, he scarcely made contact as Alvarez pounced and rolled the ball into an empty net. Igor Tudor’s place in the dugout started to look imperilled as the team seemed to be imploding even quicker than they had been recently.

'Can't handle it! - Kinsky makes ANOTHER mistake in 'embarrassing' start

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17’ - Kinsky replaced by Vicario

Kinsky was then replaced and Guglielmo Vicario was introduced in his place to steady the nerves. The Italian has come in for criticism for his own performances lately and head coach Tudor moved to take off the Czech youngster, but attracted criticism for refusing to acknowledge him.

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22’ - Atletico Madrid 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Le Normand)

The action did not stop there. Six minutes after the third goal, Alvarez won a free kick, which Griezmann took. While Vicario smartly beat away the initial effort, Robert Le Normand was on hand to bundle the ball in to leave Spurs 4-0 down after just 22 minutes.

'Can't handle it! - Kinsky makes ANOTHER mistake in 'embarrassing' start

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26’ - Atletico Madrid 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Porro)

The scoring had not finished, though, and Pedro Porro - one of Spurs’ brightest performers in recent seasons despite their on-pitch struggles - pulled away from his marker in the box and fired home a low shot.

While the rest of the half was much less eventful, with neither team adding to their tally, the opening 26 minutes will still live long in the memory.

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