Igor Tudor claimed Tottenham’s spirited Champions League exit against Atletico Madrid showed they have improved enough to win their fight for Premier League survival.
Tudor’s side beat Atletico 3-2 in the last-16 second leg in north London on Wednesday but it wasn’t enough to advance as they bowed out 7-5 on aggregate.
After losing their first four matches since interim boss Tudor replaced the sacked Thomas Frank, Tottenham have finally showed signs of life just as their season threatened to dissolve into humiliation.
Tottenham are only one point above the Premier League relegation zone but their gritty 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Sunday and the defiant victory against Atletico offered a glimmer of hope in a bleak campaign.
“The sensations are mixed. You don’t like to not get through but it was a very good performance. It was a beautiful sensation on the pitch with the fans who were really there together with the team from the first moment,” Tudor said.
“Congratulations to the players. It is positive, commitment, lot of running, lots of good things.
“The energy was really nice from the first moment. The players believed and you could see the performance at this moment is very important. In the last two games we have improved.”
Tottenham’s European exit was hardly surprising after their dismal 5-2 loss in the first leg in Madrid last week.
But the performance against Atletico was their most impressive for months and it comes at the perfect time with relegation rivals Nottingham Forest arriving for a crucial clash on Sunday.
Fourth-bottom Forest are one point behind Tottenham but Tudor insists the result will not define their season.
“It is an important game on Sunday but it will not decide anything yet, it will be decided over the last three games,” he said.
“Today we had 11 players and on the bench (Lucas) Bergvall, (Destiny) Udogie and Conor (Gallagher), the doctors said they could only play 20 minutes.
“That makes the value of this performance even better. It was nice to take the victory and important for morale.”
Atletico will face Spanish rivals Barcelona in the last eight after surviving a tense evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Diego Simeone’s side never looked comfortable defending the three-goal first leg lead and will have to improve significantly to beat La Liga leaders Barca, who thrashed Newcastle 7-2 on Wednesday.
Atletico striker Julian Alvarez, who scored his side’s first goal, conceded it wasn’t their best performance.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we had a few chances to win it as well. The important thing is that we’re through to the quarters, we’re among the best eight, so now it’s time to enjoy that,” he said.
“We knew we were coming in with a three-goal advantage, which let us stay a bit calmer, but we also knew it was going to be a tough match.
“We didn’t end up winning but the important thing was we went through. We have to think about improving and keep focusing on what’s coming.”
Source: Khaleej Times