Antonin Kinsky enjoyed a dream debut for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.
The 21-year-old goalkeeper only joined Spurs from Slavia Prague for £12.5m on Sunday.
Kinsky’s move comes following a breakthrough start to the campaign that saw him play 29 times across all competitions — including in Champions League Qualifying and the Europa League — keeping 14 clean sheets and conceding only 18 goals.
Kinsky’s senior football prior to this season — in which he helped Slavia sit top of the league prior to his departure — has mostly come away from Slavia on loan.
But Kinsky looked anything but daunted as he made his debut just days after arriving in North London, against none other than Premier League leaders Liverpool in the first leg of a major cup semi-final.
As expected, Liverpool dominated the match, attempting 14 shots to Tottenham’s seven, leading 7-4 for shots on target, 1.13-0.89 for xG and 60-40% for possession.
But Kinsky was level to almost everything Liverpool threw at him, making six saves, 12 recoveries and one sweeper ‘keeper action.
The one time he was beaten, centre-back Radu Dragusin was on-hand to clear a Trent Alexander-Arnold effort off the line.
Kinsky’s efforts gained even more significance as Lucas Bergvall fired home the winning goal in the 85th minute, giving Spurs a 1-0 lead to defend at Anfield next month.
Antonin Kinsky reacts to dream Spurs debut
It was a night Kinsky will never forget and one that was clearly emotional for him and his family.
The young goalkeeper was spotted after the final whistle running to the stands, where he was met by tearful family members overjoyed by his stunning introduction to English football.
⚪️🔐 Signing for Spurs on Sunday, making his debut against Liverpool on Wednesday… and clean sheet.
Emotional scenes for Kinsky after the game, special debut. ✨🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/gV4RbTqmar
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 8, 2025
“Yeah definitely [the best night of my life],” Kinsky said after the match (via talkSPORT). “I’m a big dreamer. I make my own visions of the future. This dream, I had never dreamt this one.
“Amazing, I’m really happy for the whole club, I came three days ago and all the people are nice.”
On the scenes with his family after the match, he added: “[I was hugging]my sister. Yesterday, I got to know that there was a possibility I was going to be playing. I called and they came, my sister her boyfriend and my parents. It was so nice to have them here for this. I hope my dad is proud.”
