Igor Tudor cut a frosty figure as he refused to tackle the big questions head-on following Tottenham's humiliating 5-2 defeat away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Tuesday night's defeat against Atletico Madrid was the latest low in a season of catastrophes for Spurs, who found themselves 4-0 down after just 22 minutes. Two of the first three goals came after monumental errors from goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, with Tudor making the bold decision to substitute the 22-year-old, having previously ushered him into the starting XI in place of Guglielmo Vicario.

One of Vicario's first acts after coming off the bench was to pick the ball out of the back of the net, with Spurs shipping five goals overall during a night to forget in the Spanish capital. The only saving grace was that Spurs netted two goals of their own, meaning they remarkably head into next week's second leg just about still alive.

When quizzed by TNT Sports, Tudor failed to take responsibility for the loss, while doubling down on the decision to drag Kinsky off the pitch. He said: "It happened very rare things in my coaching 15 years, I never do that. It was necessary to preserve the guy, to preserve the team.

"Incredible situation, nothing to comment, you will see. It was, before the game, the right choice to do in the moment like we are. Pressure on Vicario, another competition, Toni is a very good goalkeeper. So I was, for me, the right decision. After this, of course, it is easy to say that it was not the right decision."

When asked if he has spoken to Kinsky, he added: "I explained to Toni, also speaking after, that he is the right guy and a good goalkeeper. Unfortunately, it happened in this big game, these mistakes.

"We started the game, it was too much for us. In this moment, when we are fragile, we are weak. Even the second half was 4-2, it was almost 4-2 with Richarlison. We tried to score a goal in 4-2 and then we conceded the goal."

The exchange ended in frosty fashion, with the interviewer saying: "thanks Igor," but Tudor had already wandered off. When the coverage cut back to the studio, TNT Sports presenter Laura Woods had a shocked look on her face, while pundits Joe Hart and Steve McManaman both ripped into the Spurs boss.

Hart remarked: "We talk about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and they're faceless. Who is in charge of it? How can the man who has been put in charge to steer Tottenham in a safer direction, not want to speak? What sort of message is he sending there. He sent no message to the players."