Former Tottenham skipper names three huge positives from Atletico win ahead of Forest D-Day | OneFootball

Former Tottenham skipper Michael Dawson has named three massive positives the team can take from the Champions League win over Atletico Madrid ahead of Sunday’s crunch Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest.

A brace from Xavi Simons, along with a Randal Kolo Muani strike, helped Spurs beat the Spanish outfit 3-2 on the night, although they ultimately crashed out of the competition after a 7-5 aggregate defeat.

The victory was the first in charge for interim boss Igor Tudor, building on the draw at Liverpool last weekend and giving Tottenham some momentum heading into the game against relegation rivals Forest in north London.

And Dawson liked what he saw as he praised a spirited performance against the Spanish side, who will now go on to face LaLiga rivals Barcelona in the last eight.

“They had to start the game well and try to score the first goal. They did all that. They’ve got plenty of belief and something coming out of this game tonight is belief, momentum, and desire.”

The pundit then added: “I think collectively they now just need to keep talking about ‘we’ve got good enough players.’

“Winning the game on the night, that’s all you could ask for. The main aim was to win tonight.

“It wasn’t good enough to go through the next round, but a positive night.”

All the attention now switches to Sunday, with Spurs also getting players back from injury and suspension for that game.

Both Lucas Bergvall and Detony Udogie made appearances from the bench against Atletico, while Van de Ven will also return from the ban that kept him out of the draw at Anfield.

Joao Palhinha is also expected to be available after being sidelined for the last two games through the concussion protocol, while Dominic Solanke is expected to overcome a minor hip complaint to feature.

Plenty of positives then ahead of the Forest encounter, but Spurs need to break that duck of not having won a Premier League game in 2026 if they are to avoid a scenario where they potentially end up in the bottom three by the close of the weekend.