Spurs had won their last UCL match at the end of January, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 at Deutsche Bank Park, which was their third Champions League victory in a row this season.
Goals guaranteed at the Metropolitano
Indeed, finishing fourth in the league phase of the competition on 17 points, behind only Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, was quite the achievement given their league form.
In the lead-up to this game, the North Londoners were winless in six top-flight games, with the victory over Eintracht actually being their last in all competitions.
By contrast, Atleti had won their last four home games, including a stunning 4-0 demolition of Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.
Goals were almost guaranteed as Atleti had scored in their last seven UCL games, while Spurs had netted in five consecutive Champions League matches.
Kinsky's awful UCL debut
Nothing could have prepared the supporters in the ground for what transpired in the opening quarter-hour, however.
For reasons known only to himself, Igor Tudor had dropped goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and brought in Antonin Kinsky for his UCL debut, one of five changes in the Spurs side to the one that faced Eintracht.
Diego Simeone had set his stall out by having all of Ademola Lookman, Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez start the game, and such an attacking line-up paid dividends within the first few minutes.
Djed Spence had already been booked, and Griezmann had an effort off target before Kinsky slipped when trying to pass out from the back. The ball was eventually fed to Marcos Llorente to fire home in the sixth minute.
Even worse was to follow as Micky van de Ven was the next to slip at the crucial moment, allowing Griezmann a free run in on goal.
His low shot made it two-nil before, inexplicably, Kinsky fell over again when trying to clear less than two minutes later, and Alvarez gobbled up the chance for a third.
Tudor had seen enough and hauled off a keeper who had had only five touches in the game, two of which had led to goals for the opposition.
Legitimate questions surely needed to be asked about player footwear at that point, as all three goals had come because of slips.
Four goals down with 69 minutes to play
Not to mention that Tottenham's defence was woefully out of its depth, with Spence consistently losing possession down his left side.
Vicario's first action after being subbed on was to pull off a stunning save after a fizzed Griezmann free-kick came off Pedro Porro. However, Robin Le Normand pounced on the loose ball to head home a fourth, with 69 minutes still to play.
A 16th first-half goal in their 11 UCL games had given Atleti more than any other team in this season's competition, and arguably ended the tie as a contest at that point.
Porro, along with Spence and five other starters, hadn't even attempted a tackle on their direct opponent, let alone won any, and were it not for Cristian Romero's four interceptions and three clearances, the damage could've been so much worse.
Consistent loss of possession
The right-back at least gave the visitors a glimmer with a goal in the 26th minute, but the truth is that Spurs were being run ragged.
Between Spence, Porro, Pape Matar Sarr and Kevin Danso alone, they lost possession on 51 separate occasions, and if they wanted direction from the dugout, it wasn't forthcoming. Tudor, arms folded in disgust, just stood there.
Romero's header coming back off the woodwork as half-time approached summed up Tottenham's luck, and the whistle at least brought some respite.
Archie Gray's pathetic nine touches in the first 45, and Randal Kolo Muani's three attempted passes, only one of which found its target for a 33.3% success rate, were further evidence of a team totally out of tune with each other.
Solanke reduces the deficit
Dominic Solanke and Conor Gallagher were introduced at the break, two players that arguably should've started the game, and the latter, playing against his old club, was one of only two Spurs players (Xavi Simons being the other) to complete 100% of his passes.
To compound the visitors' misery, after Jan Oblak had brilliantly saved Richarlison's superb header, just two passes later, Alvarez was away, sprinting ahead of Tottenham's defence before burying the ball in the net for Atleti's fifth goal.
It gave the Argentinian a UCL brace for the first time since January 21st, 2025, against Bayer Leverkusen, and pulled the Rojiblancos clear once more.
Solanke reduced the deficit late on, one of two shots he'd taken in the game, both of which were on target. The striker had also seen seven of his eight passes find a teammate, and he'd given Spurs a belated focal point in attack, which may serve them well in the return.
Tudor's last stand?
Although it was far too little too late, Tottenham did at least fire off five shots in total after Alvarez had bagged a fifth for the hosts, and it showed that there was still some fight left in them.
Only the most fervent Spurs fan will believe their side has a chance in the second leg, however, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see someone other than Tudor taking the reins, given his initial team selection, lack of direction and the fact that the North Londoners have lost all four of the games he's taken charge of, conceding 14 goals in those matches.
The Croatian may well point to some positives, in that Spurs matched Atleti's shot count and had more successful dribbles than the hosts; however, when you only make 63 passes into the final third of the pitch with an embarrassing 63.5% collective accuracy, you're not going to win football matches.
To dare is to do, so says Tottenham's motto, but they're neither daring nor doing - and that's what has to change.
