Igor Tudor hails Archie Gray as Spurs exit Champions League | OneFootball

Igor Tudor has praised 20-year-old Archie Gray as the midfielder played a key role in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-2 victory over Atlético Madrid, although it wasn’t enough as the Spanish side came out 7-5 winners on aggregate.

Randal Kolo Muani opened the scoring for Spurs and Xavi Simons grabbed himself a brace as Tudor won his first match in his sixth attempt as Spurs boss.

Simons’ first goal was the pick of the bunch, firing in a perfectly-executed curling shot into the bottom corner after Spurs’ standout player this season Gray wiggled through the Atleti midfield to tee up the Dutchman’s effort.

On Gray, Tudor said: “He’s a guy, you know the positions he plays everywhere, so probably this position in the middle is, I believe, the best one for him.

“But he’s playing continually in the right way, in a good way. It’s a mix of quality, physically and mentally, to always make the right choices and be humble and have legs to do so.

“He needs to continue this, he’s still young, so every day he needs to be a new confirmation.”

In a disastrous campaign for the club, the man at right-back has led by example with both his performances and attitude – this certainly the case tonight as he dominated the battle against Madrid’s midfield.

Gray was pipped to player of the match by Simons, who not only delivered two goals but drove at the heart of the opposition time and time again as he attempted to force his way back into his interim manager’s starting 11.

Tudor said: “I think Xavi was very good, happy for him, showed the talent. It was not easy to play there in the middle, where it’s always difficult.”

A goal from Julian Alvarez that effectively ended any comeback talk was hotly-debated, with Tudor declaring it an “obvious” foul on Xavi Simons by the Argentine down the other end of the pitch.

David Hancko’s header from a corner killed off any remaining quarter-final dreams from the supporters in the home end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but their manager felt the support from the terraces despite their European journey ending.

Tudor said: “It’s nice, the sensation, the feelings are mixed. We’re out but one very good team on the pitch, one very good performance of the players and energy.

“It was really nice that the fans recognised that the team did everything they could do. They were with us from the start and I thank them for that.”

Tudor’s Tottenham side have produced two performances against two top European sides to give encouragement that the season will not end in doom and gloom, but their meeting with Nottingham Forest on Sunday meets all the criteria for a true ‘six-pointer’.

Just a single one separates Spurs from Forest in 17th, also level on points with West Ham in the bottom three, as their survival battle with just eight games to go in the Premier League season nears its climax.