How Igor Tudor’s reign of error turned huge corner as Tottenham remembered how to win

Four days after emerging from pointlessness , Igor Tudor is now no longer winless. His interim reign of error at Tottenham is finally finding its purpose, eight days on from the Croatian appearing a complete and utter lost cause . Spurs are out of the Champions League but akin to fellow relegation candidates Nottingham Forest, there is the valid argument that Europe could be a very unwanted distraction from survival.

With Spurs fans in full voice, still in their seats at the full-time whistle, victory on the night feels far more important than defeat in tie. Even without the milestone win, there was a sense of hope and pride that was attached to the atmosphere during the contest’s closing stages. “Oh When The Spurs” belting out from stand to stand, you wouldn’t have thought this was a team three goals down and on the verge of being dumped out of Europe.

Purely from a performance perspective, a corner had been turned. Tottenham beat Atletico Madrid on the night but were nevertheless dumped out of the Champions League (John Walton/PA Wire) There was a semblance after Sunday’s draw at Anfield that, with Tudor on the touchline but not necessarily conscious at the wheel, Spurs were beginning to stage their own rescue mission. Their players had shown some fight.

Tottenham couldn’t pat themselves on the back too heavily, of course - that first result in five games under the Croatian was hardly to do with Tudor’s tactical acumen and more came from an ever-beleaguered Liverpool’s persistent inability to finish well. It was nevertheless a babystep in the right direction. The visit of Atletico now acted as a litmus test to see if they were toddling on the road to recovery.