Courtois reveals message he sent to Kinsky after Tottenham horror show

Antonin Kinsky endured the embarrassment of being subbed off as the Tottenham goalkeeper had a shocker in the Champions League - but a goalkeeping great has come to his defence

Thibaut Courtois has revealed he messaged Tottenham's Antonin Kinsky after his nightmare on Tuesday night - and claimed the Atletico Madrid pitch was to blame.

The Czech shotstopper was bought in to replace Guglielmo Vicario for the Champions League clash in Spain, but endured a night to forget before being hooked on 16 minutes. His misplaced pass allowed the La Liga outfit to take the lead inside the opening five minutes before a defensive mix-up made it 2-0.

Kinsky's worst moment of the night came as he tried to play a pass first time, only to scuff his kick and lay the ball into the path of Julian Alvarez, who had an open goal at his mercy.

In a show of pure ruthlessness Tottenham boss Igor Tudor then hauled off Kinsky, handing Vicario his spot back for the remainder of the game, which the Londoners would lose 5-2. The goalkeeper looked distraught and headed straight down the tunnel.

Real Madrid's goalkeeper has reached out since and believes the pitch at the Wanda Metropolitano has caused numerous problems. He said: "I sent him a message on Instagram because it’s tough. In the end, it hasn’t happened to me as much as it has to him, but after the Ajax match here at home, I also took quite a bit of flak."

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook page

The Belgian then added: "It’s mentally tough to keep going, you need the support of your team, to feel good again in training and to play well. Ultimately, I think the pitch is causing more problems, not just for Tottenham or Atletico but for many teams that have played there."

Igor Tudor is under huge pressure having lost all four of his games, leading to questions about his future. The Croatian concedes he made the wrong call by bringing Kinsky into the fold, but felt before the game it was a smart move.

He said: "After seeing what happened, for sure it was the wrong decision. But it was, for me, the right decision to do, thinking before, because the team changed competition and it was, in the moment, right to do. Unfortunately, what happened happened. I’ve never changed my goalkeeper after 14 minutes. It’s not easy, it happened."

Courtois did call out Tudor’s decision to haul Kinsky after his second error, and suggested that the the young goalkeeper "may have been able to regain some of the confidence he had lost with a few great saves."