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 fair 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.
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Will Castle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium18 March 2026 23:06
Barcelona blow away Newcastle in brutal end to Champions League dream
The 37-year-old Poland international hit the Magpies with a quick-fire double before the Brazilian struck to seal a 7-2 win on the night – a 13th on the trot since their return to the Nou Camp – and an 8-3 aggregate victory on a night when Eddie Howe‘s side imploded.
Anthony Elanga’s first-half brace had cancelled out Raphinha’s early opener and Marc Bernal’s free-header, but Lamine Yamal‘s stoppage-time penalty opened the floodgates with Fermin Lopez, Lewandowski and Raphinha again doing the damage.
Chris Wilson19 March 2026 01:00
WATCH: Highlights as Spurs beat Atleti
Here are all the highlights as Spurs got their first win under Igor Tudor.
It all started with a great header from Kolo Muani…
…before a superb equaliser from Julian Alvarez.
Xavi Simons regained the lead for the hosts with his own brilliant strike…
…but the tie was settled by David Hancko late on…
…even if there was time for Simons to win the game late on with a penalty!
Chris Wilson19 March 2026 00:00
Champions League quarter-finals confirmed as Liverpool face PSG in huge clash
Stunning strikes from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice proved the difference with Arsenal running out 3-1 winners on aggregate, setting up a tie with Sporting CP who recovered a three-goal first-leg deficit to win 5-0 on the night against Bodo/Glimt, ending the Norwegian side’s fairytale run.
Chris Wilson18 March 2026 23:30
Igor Tudor explains why Tottenham take ‘confidence’ into relegation showdown with Nottingham Forest
Tudor’s side will not qualify for European competition but this is the sort of result that can spur them on for the rest of the season, with the Lilywhites having secured their first Premier League points under the Croatian with last week’s draw to Liverpool.
Chris Wilson18 March 2026 23:15
Champions League quarter-finals
And here’s the full list of fixtures for the quarter-finals:
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Chris Wilson18 March 2026 23:00
Here’s the list of this evening’s results then:
Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle (8-3 agg.)
Liverpool 4-0 Galatasaray (4-1 agg.)
Bayern Munich 4-1 Atalanta (10-2 agg.)
Tottenham 3-2 Atletico Madrid (5-7 agg.)
Chris Wilson18 March 2026 22:50
Tudor: ‘There is a lot of confidence’
“The sensations are mixed because you don’t like to not pass [into the next round] but it was a very good performance after quite a long period,” said Spurs boss Igor Tudor after full-time.
“Beautiful sensation on the pitch with the fans who were really there with the squad. And the team was good from the first moment, they recognised this will to do what they can do. So good sensation after the game even though we didn’t qualify. And congratulations to the players.
“All sensations are positive in every way. This commitment behind, there was quality in front, a lot of running, a lot of good things. There is a decision of the referee for the foul on Xavi [Simons], who decides the game in the end. But still believing after to score one goal to at least get this victory. So this is the good direction that we take.
On Archie Gray, he adds: “Incredible. Incredible guy playing all positions. In this position, he can be the best. Together with Papp, I like them very much. Xavi was good today. We need to continue this.
And on the fans: “I believe today they were proud of the team, even if we are out. So we hope this can continue on Sunday, we need them for the game. We need to make this performance continue away.”
Finally, on the game against Forest this weekend, he adds: “We need to refresh and choose the right players but there is a lot of confidence after these two games.”
(John Walton/PA Wire)
Chris Wilson18 March 2026 22:43
“I think we fought hard, a lot of duels won, ground duels, aerial duels, second balls. A lot of running from the team, I think the team now is in a better physical place because we have more endurance also during the game, so we keep running until the last second,” adds Vicario.
“Of course then we have the energy of the fans today. They’ve been unbelievable, they’ve been incredible to support us until the last second.
“So all these kind of things we need to keep with ourselves and show everything in the next games. It’s crucial at this point of the season, to give everything we have. But today is a positive point to start,” he added.
Chris Wilson18 March 2026 22:35
Vicario: ‘We have good energy now’
The words of Spurs ‘keeper Guigliemo Vicario after full-time:
“Tonight, it was a game of moments. I think we were close not to go over the edge, I would say, because we had a lot of situations in the first half where we could’ve gone to the break at 2-0. But I think a lot of positives to take from tonight from every aspect.
“We showed what we need to show every game so of course it’s a good build-up into the next games. It gives us a lot of confidence and we are very proud of what we did tonight.
“Of course, we are disappointed because we couldn’t go through. That’s football. But the important thing is that we have good energy now, good freshness for what we showed tonight. So it’s a good point to start,” he added.
(REUTERS)
Chris Wilson18 March 2026 22:30