There are bad nights in European football, and then there is what Tottenham Hotspur endured in Madrid on Tuesday evening. Atlético Madrid produced a ruthless, clinical display to dismantle Spurs 5-2 in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie, leaving Ange Postecoglou's side staring at almost certain elimination.

The collapse was as sudden as it was spectacular. Tottenham arrived at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano with legitimate ambitions of causing an upset, but those hopes evaporated within the opening quarter of an hour thanks largely to their own goalkeeper. Antonin Kinsky, who had been a reliable presence between the posts for much of the season, endured a catastrophic start that will haunt him for years to come. His errors were not subtle or marginal — they were the kind of goalkeeping disasters that change the entire complexion of a tie.

The most damaging of Kinsky's mistakes saw him gift Julian Alvarez what amounted to a walk-in goal, the Argentine forward gratefully accepting a present that no striker at this level expects to receive. The Czech goalkeeper was mercifully withdrawn after just 17 minutes, his evening cut short in the most humiliating fashion imaginable.

But removing the source of the early chaos did nothing to stem the bleeding. Atlético smelled blood and attacked with a ferocity that Tottenham simply could not withstand. Diego Simeone's men scored four goals in a devastating 22-minute spell that left the visitors shell-shocked and scrambling for answers that never came.

Alvarez finished with a brace, underlining why Atlético invested so heavily in prising him away from Manchester City. The former World Cup winner was clinical, composed, and utterly unforgiving whenever Tottenham offered him even a sniff of goal. Antoine Griezmann, ever the man for the big occasion, added his name to the scoresheet with the kind of finish that has become his trademark in European competition. Marcos Llorente and Le Normand completed the rout, each finding the net as Atlético turned the tie into a procession.

To their credit, Tottenham did not simply roll over and accept their fate. Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro both scored consolation goals that at least gave the scoreline a slightly more respectable appearance. Those two away goals represent the thinnest of silver linings, but the reality is stark: Spurs must now overturn a three-goal deficit in the second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next Wednesday.

History suggests that such comebacks are extraordinarily rare at this level of the competition. Tottenham will need to produce something truly remarkable — a performance for the ages — to keep their Champions League journey alive. For Simeone and his players, the job is not yet done, but they could scarcely have asked for a more commanding position heading into the return fixture.

Elsewhere on a dramatic night of Champions League action, Bayern Munich delivered their own emphatic statement by thrashing Atalanta 6-1 away from home. Michael Olise was the star of the show with two goals as the German giants put one foot firmly in the quarter-finals.

For Tottenham, the inquest will begin immediately. Questions about goalkeeping, defensive organization, and mental fortitude will dominate the conversation in north London this week. Whether they can channel the pain of Madrid into something extraordinary at home remains to be seen, but on this evidence, the mountain they face is Everest-sized.