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Tottenham replaced goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in the 17th minute of their Champions League last-16 tie at Atletico Madrid after conceding three goals.

The Czech Republic international, 22, endured a nightmare start and interim boss Igor Tudor quickly replaced him with Guglielmo Vicario.

Italian Vicario has started the majority of Tottenham’s games this season but was dropped for Tuesday’s first-leg tie in Madrid after being criticised for poor performances.

Vicario conceded five minutes after coming on as Atletico stormed into a 4-0 lead by the 22nd minute, before Pedro Porro reduced the deficit by half-time.

But Spurs face an almighty task to turn it around in the second leg on 18 March after losing 5-2.

Tottenham signed Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a deal worth about £12.5m in January 2025.

His first error – a slip – led to Marcos Llorente making it 1-0 in the sixth minute, before Antoine Griezmann added a second eight minutes later.

Kinsky, who last started a game in October – the second of two Carabao Cup games this season – was also at fault for Atletico’s third goal, gifting the ball straight to Julian Alvarez to finish easily in the 15th minute.

Kinsky had his head in his hands and was taken off less than two minutes later.

He was not acknowledged by Tudor before he headed down the tunnel.

BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty, who was at the match, said he was not sure he had “ever witnessed anything quite like this” after Spurs’ series of mistakes was followed by Tudor’s decision to take Kinsky off.

BBC Sport’s Spanish football reporter Elizabeth Conway, also at the match, said it was a “disastrous 17 minutes” for Kinsky, who was shown support by team-mates Kevin Danso, Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro as he left the pitch.

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson, commentating on the game for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “I have never seen that on a football pitch.

“It will be soul-destroying for Kinsky. I would not be surprised if he was in tears. It is a difficult thing to handle.

“It is selfish from the manager. He knows he will not be here for long.

Romero walked over to speak with Tudor shortly before Kinsky was substituted.

Asked if Romero advised Tudor to substitute Kinsky, Tudor said: “My decision, of course.”

Asked if he deserved to continue in his role, Tudor said: “It is not a topic for me. It is not about my job. It is about how to help the team. It will be always be about that.

“I recognise what we are and which problems we have. I recognise that every game, something happens. Sometimes it is very difficult to explain.”

Former Premier League goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel told CBS Sports: “Tudor has completely destroyed his career. I feel really sorry for him.

“When his name is mentioned in the future, the whole football world will remember this moment.

Former Spurs and England goalkeeper Joe Hart told TNT Sports: “My heart is absolutely broken for him.

“He had a horrible 14 minutes – that slip and the third goal. I don’t know what to say. I am just heartbroken for the lad.

“This Tottenham team is all over the place.”

Former Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, who plays for Fiorentina, posted a message of support for Kinsky on social media.

“No-one who hasn’t been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position,” De Gea wrote on X.

Ireland flanker Josh van der Flier said his side’s recent wins over Scotland have all come when they have “played particularly well”.

Ireland have won their past eight Six Nations games against Scotland, including a 32-18 win at Murrayfield last year and another victory over Gregor Townsend’s in-form side will see the Irish retain the Triple Crown.

But Van der Flier is wary of the threat Scotland pose going forward, especially after their thrilling 50-40 win over France last weekend and stressed Ireland’s need to nullify their attacking talent.

“Scotland are playing brilliant stuff, but when we’ve done well, we’ve put in a pretty good all round performance,” he said.

“I can’t think of us beating Scotland when we haven’t played well, so it will take a big performance.

“[Last year] we had a fast start and were pretty physical, we were good on the contact side of things and nullifying what they do well is critical. Finn Russell runs the game very well, so [we need to be] trying to minimise their effectiveness and front up when we have the ball, as well as in defence.

“The big things with any of these Test matches is whoever wins the physical battle tends to stand a pretty good chance.

Van der Flier has started two games in the Six Nations this year, the opening day defeat by France and the famous win away win over England.

He was dropped from the squad for the victory against Italy and came off the bench in the win over Wales at the weekend.

The 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year says he has had to adapt to not playing every game for his country.

“I always want to start every game, that’s how you want to do it but for the team and development of the team, a lot of lads are playing well,” he added.

“Nick Timoney has been playing brilliant stuff, so aside from myself, it’s great to see him starting and playing really good stuff, the back row has been brilliant throughout, it’s a very competitive place.

“From my perspective, I don’t mind being on the bench, it’s a different role to starting, but it drives you on to start.”

The 32-year-old spoke of how a recent conversation with Ireland and Leinster team-mate Garry Ringrose reshaped his view of the importance of players making an impact off the bench.

“He was saying about Jacques Nienaber at Leinster, at how the South Africans look at the bench and in basketball, it’s who you have on the pitch at the end of the game, so I know he [Jacques] would see it that way as well,” Van der Flier explained.

“It’s a big role off the bench, it’s a privilege to more than likely be on the pitch at the end of the game.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has established himself as one Europe’s top creative talents.

Paris St-Germain’s electrifying Georgia winger has lit up the Champions League this season – but he retains a low profile off the pitch.

The 25-year-old has been directly involved in seven goals (four goals, three assists) in nine Champions League matches, making him PSG’s top scorer in the competition and the player with the highest overall goal contributions.

Next up for the defending European champions are Chelsea, a club who have tried to sign ‘Kvaradona’ in the past and who travel to Paris on Wednesday in the last-16 first leg.

“I consider myself a simple person,” Kvaratskhelia says in a chat with BBC Sport. “I try to stay grounded, listen to my family, and always remember who I am and where I come from.”

Kvaratskhelia’s family home in Tbilisi, where he grew up, does not announce that a global football star was raised there.

It is one of those anonymous Soviet-era apartment blocks that populate so many parts of the city: concrete, weathered, functional rather than beautiful, surrounded by identical neighbours and the everyday sounds of a working-class district.

Inside that building I met his father, Badri – a former Dinamo Tbilisi player and Azerbaijan international – and his mother, Maka, when their son was starring with Napoli.

It was a warm, welcoming home. Humble, not full of luxuries, but filled with memories. Everywhere you looked there were small mementos of his journey – photographs, trophies, shirts. Among them the first shirt he ever wore for Dinamo Tbilisi.

“Because this is where Khvicha’s professional career started. It has to be the Dinamo one,” Maka said. “His path to the top started here.”

Kvaratskhelia still uses his small bedroom whenever he returns. In one corner there is a computer table, a keyboard, large headphones and the kind of chair used by gamers.

That little world is where he disappears for hours whenever he comes home.

Born on 12 February 2001, from an early age football was inseparable from his life. As his mother recalls, he walked with the ball, slept with the ball. Football was everything, which is not to say that it was an easy path.

As a graduate of the Dinamo Tbilisi academy, he made his professional debut at 16 in 2017 before moving to Rustavi and then on loan to Lokomotiv Moscow where he would receive his first significant salary, money which allowed him to pay for life-saving heart surgery for his father.

“It wasn’t even a question to him,” said Badri.

On 22 May 2019, the 18-year-old would win his first major honour when Lokomotiv Moscow won the Russian Cup.

A move to Rubin Kazan where he would spend three seasons – and twice win the best young player in the Russian League – followed.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought an end to his stay, when Fifa announced on 7 March 2022 that all foreign players in Russia could unilaterally suspend their contracts until 30 June and sign with clubs outside Russia until the same date.

It would only be a brief stopover.

On 1 July 2022, Napoli signed him for a reported fee of about £9.5m.

His form for the Italian club and its fanatical support was instrumental in winning their first Serie A title in 33 years – and earned him the nickname ‘Kvaradona’.

But it was only going to be a matter of time before the really big clubs came calling, and in January 2025 Kvaratskhelia became the first Georgian to play for PSG when he joined the club for £59m plus add-ons.

The Treble followed, including PSG’s first Champions League triumph, a final in which he scored.

A direct, forward-thinking dribbler, his ability stems from his early development in tight spaces in Georgia and is refined through individual video analysis and specific change-of-direction and reaction drills.

His explosive change of direction has been achieved with targeted strength work, plyometrics and coordination exercises.

He possesses a powerful and clean strike, especially after cutting inside from the left and his confidence is built on constant repetition from a young age, specific finishing routines and strength work in the gym.

Like so many talented players of his generation he cites Cristiano Ronaldo as a reference.

He is also valued for his high defensive work-rate and – very much like Ronaldo – his competitive mentality, something that comes from an upbringing rooted in responsibility and respect.

He said: “I feel important within the group, but the most important thing is the team. Here, we all share responsibility in key moments.

“I love football so much. For me the most important thing is if the team wins and to enjoy. For me football is just my life and I just love to play and enjoy it.”

He is still learning, a work in progress, constantly aware of the need to improve aspects of his game, particularly defensively.

He credits much of his defensive improvements to former Napoli coach Antonio Conte.

It was a lesson well-learned. Luis Enrique was never going to expect anything less from him at PSG.

Since joining PSG he has naturally become associated with high-stakes matches, like the athletes he admires.

Off the pitch he is a massive NBA fan, citing Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant as two of the sporting role models he admires.

In August 2022, Kvaratskhelia revealed in an interview that he had been dating Nitsa Tavadze, a Georgian medical university student, for one year.

Their traditional Georgian marriage ceremony was held at Mtskheta’s Samtavro monastery in October 2023, and on 21 August 2024 in Tbilisi the couple’s first child – a son, Damiane – was born.

But not much more is known. He is as reserved and relaxed off the pitch as he is fearless and aggressive on it.

Those who know him best talk of a grounded, humble, private family man, a million miles away from the archetypal constructed superstar image enjoyed by so many.

His friends highlight his generosity – a trait he has always had, even during the times when he had precious little money.

Fiercely patriotic, he understands how he represents more than merely himself on the pitch, but also his position as a role model for the next generation of Georgian youth.

“It’s very important to me where I come from,” he said. “In Georgia, identity is something very strong, and I try to represent that every time I step on to the pitch.”

Georgians are known for their fierce sense of identity, pride in their culture and an almost stubborn resilience born from centuries of surviving between empires.

Kvaratskhelia embodies all that – fearless and carrying his country with him every time he runs at a defender.