How 'strong character' Antonin Kinsky turned his Tottenham Hotspur career around to make sensational save against Leeds United
Updated 12/05/2026 at 17:19 GMT+1
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Many might have thought that Antonin Kinsky’s Tottenham Hotspur career was over after he was substituted 16 minutes into the first leg of his side’s UEFA Champions League last-16 tie at Atletico Madrid.
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The Czechia international conceded three goals to Atleti, two of which were of his making, before being taken off by then-manager Igor Tudor.
Kinsky looked dejected as he was consoled by several team-mates as he made his way off the pitch to be replaced by Guglielmo Vicario.
"My heart is absolutely broken for the lad," Joe Hart told TNT Sports at the time.
"Kinsky seemingly can't handle it," commentator Darren Fletcher added. "Spurs can't handle it, and Atletico Madrid are three up.
"This is embarrassing. If he's going to take him off after 16 minutes, you are finished at the club as a goalkeeper. You can't come back from this if you're Kinsky."
The performance was so calamitous, and the backlash so fierce, that former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea took to X to defend the young shot-stopper.
"No one who hasn't been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position," said De Gea. "Keep your head up, and you will go again."
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'That's on the manager!' - Kinsky SUBBED off after 16 minutes
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Two months on, Kinsky produced one of the saves of the season to deny Leeds United a stoppage-time winner and ensure Spurs earned a crucial point in their bid for Premier League survival.
The stop could be season-defining.
The 23-year-old has steadily built up some form since returning to the side to replace the injured Vicario against Sunderland last month, most notably pulling off a fine save from a free-kick in stoppage time in the 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Indeed, as per Opta, Kinsky has only conceded five goals since the international break, with only five keepers having a better goal conceded per game rate (Giorgi Mamardashvili, Matz Sels, Gianluigi Donnarumma, David Raya, Djordje Petrovic).
He also made a strong save earlier in the game against Leeds, diving to the bottom left corner to impressively claw away Joe Rodon’s 21st-minute header.
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But Kinsky’s later stop was in a different league. With the game locked at 1-1, Kinsky stretched his fingertips to push Sean Longstaff’s close-range thunderbolt onto the crossbar in the eighth minute of added time.
It’s a save that moved Spurs a precious two points ahead of rivals West Ham United in their fight against relegation.
”He’s improving a lot”, Roberto De Zerbi said in his post-match press conference. ”He’s a really good keeper and I had no doubts about him in my first days at Tottenham, because I knew him before I came here.
”When I came he played in Madrid and he made that mistake, and it was tough for him. But he’s a great personality, a strong character, and he deserves to play a game like today.”
Spurs will be hoping that ”strong character” is on show for the club’s remaining games against Chelsea and Everton.
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Was it two points dropped for Spurs?
While Kinsky ensured Spurs earned a valuable point against Leeds, West Ham fans will be heartened that De Zerbi's men could only draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Hammers' loss to Arsenal on Sunday meant that a Spurs win against Leeds would have left Nuno Espirito Santo's men four points from safety with just two games left to play. Now it looks like it might go down to the wire.
Spurs are still in the driving seat, with Opta giving them a mere 19.54% chance of going down against West Ham's 80.46%.
But West Ham are only two points adrift and should they win at Newcastle United on Sunday evening, they would plunge Spurs back into the bottom three ahead of their trip to Chelsea on May 19.
If West Ham can extend the relegation fight to the last day of the season, it could see Spurs needing to claim their first league home win since December when they face Everton.
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