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Pedro Porro believes Tottenham Hotspur can beat Atletico Madrid with the help of the home faithful on Wednesday night
Pedro Porro has warned Atletico Madrid that the second leg of the UEFA Champions League last-16 will be a 'completely different game'. Tottenham Hotspur must overcome a three-goal deficit when they host Diego Simeone's side on Wednesday evening just to stand a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Atletico stormed past the Lilywhites in the first leg at the Metropolitano last week, banking a 5-2 aggregate lead. Although the Spanish giants waltzed away victorious, they squandered a four-goal advantage when Porro pulled one back for Spurs on the half hour mark.
In an interview with Spanish outlet AS, the Tottenham defender backed his side to turn things around. He said: "I said it after the match: if you don’t believe, stay in Madrid.
"Here in London, it can be a completely different game. It’s true we haven’t been winning in the Premier League, but in Europe we haven’t lost [at home] in almost 20 matches.
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"In the [2024/25 Europa League] semi-finals against Bodo, for example, we went up 2-0 early. No one can say it’s impossible - and that’s the message: if you don’t believe, stay in Madrid. Call me crazy, but in a single match, you score once, and everything can change."
Porro claimed that supporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can play a key role on Wednesday night. The Spaniard said: "It really surprised me.
"The first leg of the (Europa League) quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, for instance, the atmosphere was incredible. And the semi-final against Bodo was spectacular. The fans were pushing us on; you could feel it.
"And here in England, when the crowd is behind you, it’s tough for the opponent. The back‑and‑forth energy is one of our strengths. I hope the fans don’t feel this tie is lost."
On the first leg, Porro said: "When I looked up and saw on the scoreboard that it was the 17th or 20th minute, and we were already down 3-0, 4-0… I couldn’t believe it.
"Something similar happened to me in Scotland with the [Spain] national team - I slipped, and the opponent scored. That’s the message I told Tony [Kinsky]: anything can happen in football.
"This sport is about getting back up. Many teammates sent him messages, and his spirits have lifted. He looks good to me - motivated, eager."
Tudor was heavily scrutinised when he took off Kinsky inside the opening quarter of an hour, but Porro has defended the decision. He said: "A million things run through your head.
"From my point of view, the coach handled it well - he wanted to protect him. None of us thought he took him off because of two mistakes. Marcos [Llorente]’s first goal is a rocket; there’s nothing you can do about that, and the rest can happen to anyone.
"I understood the decision to protect him. Maybe if you leave him in, he makes three or four saves afterwards - but you never know."
On juggling the pressure of avoiding relegation from the Premier League with the Champions League campaign, Porro said: "Everyone knows it’s a delicate moment, but I’m focused on turning this around.
"When you’ve got things to fix in every area, you lock in on the day‑to‑day and try to get out of it as soon as possible. It’s not easy. I’m the kind of player who’s already thinking about the next match the moment the previous one ends, but yeah - we also have to stay focused on the Premier League."
Porro added: "Whichever way you look at it, it’s tough. We’re out of the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, so it’s just the Champions League and the league left.
"If we’re knocked out of the Champions League, maybe we can focus more on the Premier League - but that’s not how I see it. I want to compete in everything.
"That’s what I try to transmit, and my teammates don’t want to bow out either. I can assure you we’re going to give everything in every match."
English (US) ·