Credit: Imago

Samuel Fabre

Tue 10 March 2026 20:54, UK

Pape Matar Sarr needs to be taken off at half-time as Tottenham Hotspur trail Atletico Madrid 4-1 in their Champions League round-of-16 clash at Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Diego Simeone’s side took the lead early on when Marcos Llorente fired the ball past Antonin Kinsky, who slipped when trying to play the ball out from the back.

Antoine Griezmann then capitalised on Micky van de Ven’s slip to make it 2-0, before the Czech goalkeeper gifted Julian Alvarez the third and was subsequently subbed off.

And Igor Tudor’s woes were compounded when Robin Le Normand scored the fourth from a free-kick, although Pedro Porro’s strike gave the Lilywhites a glimmer of hope.

The first 45 minutes in Tottenham’s clash with Atletico Madrid have been disastrous, and Sarr’s woeful performance shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Pape Matar Sarr must come off for Conor Gallagher vs Atletico Madrid

While Kinsky will take all of the headlines, Sarr has been one of the worst players on the pitch.

The 23-year-old was dispossessed by Llorente in the build-up to the second goal, and it became a recurring theme throughout the first half.

According to Sofascore, Sarr registered a pass accuracy of 88 per cent in the first half, but won 0 per cent of his aerial duels, and it’s clear that Archie Gray was holding down the midfield by himself.

In the Premier League this season, Sarr has won just 44.3 per cent of his ground duels and 42.1 per cent of his aerial duels.

It’s clear that he was never going to handle Atletico Madrid’s physical approach, and Tudor can’t afford to risk the scoreline becoming even more embarrassing by leaving him on the pitch.

Luckily for Spurs fans, Gallagher was warming up, and Sarr will surely be put out of his misery at the start of the second half.

Gallagher hasn’t started his Tottenham career well, but he certainly can’t do much worse than Sarr.

Igor Tudor must take blame for not starting Conor Gallagher

He has won just 44.9 per cent of his ground duels and 16.7 per cent of his aerial duels in the top flight this season, which is frankly shocking.

However, having played for Atletico Madrid for 18 months, the English midfielder is used to the pressure of playing in the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Gallagher is one of Tottenham’s highest-paid players, and leaving a £35million signing on the bench is frankly ludicrous in such a big game.

In under four matches, Tudor’s side have conceded 13 goals, and it’s clear that the spotlight will be on him once the 90 minutes are over.

Starting midfielders aged 19 and 23 in one of the most hostile environments in Europe is outrageous, and at least Gallagher would be able to add some experience to the side.