Any hopes that Tottenham wouldn’t bring their poor Premier League form into this game were quashed just six minutes in, when Antonin Kinsky slipped when attempting to pass out, presenting the ball straight to Ademola Lookman.
The Nigerian squared it to Julian Alvarez, who selflessly helped it on to Marcos Llorente, and he guided it past the goalkeeper.
To rub salt into the wounds, only eight minutes later it was Micky van de Ven’s turn to slip, allowing Antoine Griezmann a free run at goal, and he duly rolled in the second.
Within seconds of the restart, Spurs’ nightmare continued when Kinsky completely miskicked a clearance, playing the ball straight to Alvarez, who tapped it into the empty net.
That was the end of the miserable night for the Czech goalkeeper, who was replaced by Guglielmo Vicario just after the quarter-hour mark.
Yet, he was also picking the ball out of his net within five minutes of being on the pitch. A Griezmann free-kick was diverted towards his own goal by Pape Matar Sarr, and while Vicario scrambled it off the line, he could do nothing to stop Robin Le Normand bundling in the rebound.
Igor Tudor called for calm, and whether or not his words had any impact, the visitors pulled one back soon after when Richarlison squared to Pedro Porro, who held off his marker and finished smartly.
Lookman forced Vicario into a smart stop to prevent further embarrassment, before Cristian Romero struck the post from a corner.
Ten minutes into the second half, the match turned from building a potential Spurs comeback to an Atleti rout in a matter of seconds, as Jan Oblak made a terrific save to deny Richarlison, and the frantic clearance was knocked down by Griezmann into the path of Alvarez, who sprinted 60 yards to bury his second past Vicario.
That put the result beyond doubt, but Dominic Solanke continued to press and got his reward 15 minutes from time when Oblak’s loose pass was picked up by Porro, whose ball to the English striker powered home for 5-2.
Van de Ven ballooned a chance over the bar with just over 10 minutes to go that would have really reignited the tie, but it's now six losses in a row in all competitions for Tottenham, who began the night looking for a fourth win and clean sheet in the UCL.
For Los Colchoneros, it’s now 16 wins in their last 18 at home, as they head to London next Wednesday with a three-goal advantage.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid)
Catch up on the match stats with Flashscore
