Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Tuesday, 17 March 2026 22:10 / Updated on Tuesday, 17 March 2026 22:11
Igor Tudor (47 years old), the coach of Tottenham, held the press conference prior to the return with Atletico Madrid, in the “eighths” of the Champions League. In the first match, the Spaniards prevailed at home, score 5-2.
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Tottenham v Atletico Madrid takes place on Wednesday, March 18, kick-off at 10:00 p.m. The match will be liveTEXT on GSP.ro and televised by Prima Sport 3 and Digi Sport 2.
Radu Drăgușin (24 years old) will be part of the team, but most likely he will not be a starter. Cristian Romero (27 years old), the competitor for the position, is to return after the injury. It was not used in the draw with Liverpool (1-1) for this reason.
Igor Tudor, statements before Tottenham – Liverpool: “Our priority is to stay in the Premier League”
Igor Tudor stated that the return with Atletico Madrid is an ideal time to build more confidence within the team. The Londoners lost 5-2 away to the Spanish capital a week ago after a series of extremely unfortunate mistakes.
Tudor has been heavily criticized for Tottenham's performances since taking over, but his side managed to give fans reason for optimism after their draw with Liverpool at the weekend.
The Croatian technician admitted that the team's main objective remains to stay in the Premier League, given that they are just one point above the relegation zone.
“Our priority is to stay in the Premier League but tomorrow we have a big challenge, to show that we can play well and prove that they are not better than us. It will be difficult but not impossible. We have to stay in the game and focus on our strengths.
Everything is possible, but we have to believe that we can do it. We have to try to continue the good form and start to turn things around. The players are very involved and want to do a good job“, said the coach.
Tudor has confirmed that stopper Cristian Romero is back in the squad and will be available for tomorrow's game against Atletico Madrid, while Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergval will start on the bench. Joao Palhinha is unavailable for this match and Conor Gallagher remains uncertain.
“Cristian is available and will be able to play. Joao Palhinha's concussion is more serious, but Cristian will be with us. We will do everything we can for Conor Gallagher today. He has asthma and probably picked up a virus, but we will assess whether he can be benched.
Joao Palhinha is definitely unavailable, Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergval will be on the bench. They will not be starters, as they have just returned,” the coach said.
