Tottenham forward Dominic Solanke described his team’s disastrous start against Atletico Madrid as a rare “one in a million” situation after their 5-2 Champions League defeat.

Dominic Solanke has described Tottenham Hotspur’s dramatic collapse against Atlético Madrid as a “one in a million” occurrence following their 5-2 defeat in the Champions League round-of-16 first leg.

Tottenham endured a disastrous start to the match, conceding three goals within the opening 15 minutes at the Metropolitano Stadium. The early setbacks left the Premier League side facing an uphill battle for the remainder of the game.

Two of those early goals came after costly mistakes from goalkeeper Antonín Kinský. The young goalkeeper slipped while attempting to clear the ball for the first goal and later misplaced a pass that led directly to another strike for Atlético.

Tottenham’s defensive troubles were compounded when Micky van de Ven slipped, allowing Antoine Griezmann to capitalise and score Atlético’s second goal of the night.

Despite the chaotic opening, Tottenham attempted to fight back and managed to score twice, with Solanke grabbing one of the goals to give the team a small sense of hope ahead of the return leg in London.

Solanke admitted the team found it extremely difficult to recover after such an unexpected start, explaining that situations like that are almost impossible to prepare for despite the detailed planning that goes into Champions League matches.

Tottenham will now look to regroup quickly as they prepare for a challenging Premier League trip to Liverpool. With the club currently sitting just above the relegation zone, Solanke insisted the squad must remain brave and united as they attempt to turn their difficult run of form around.