DAVID DE GEA has sent an incredible message to Antonin Kinsky following his disastrous showing against Atletico Madrid.
The Tottenham goalkeeper was hauled off by Igor Tudor after his errors saw the hosts take a 3-0 lead.
Kinsky, 22, was at fault for the first goal with a poor pass before his horrific slip allowed Julian Alvarez to tap home.
Tudor made the decision to take him out of the firing line and replaced him with Guglielmo Vicario.
Former Manchester United star De Gea has leapt to the defence of Kinsky on social media.
The Spaniard sent him a message to split the criticism as he insisted only goalkeepers know the difficulty of the position.
He wrote: “No one who hasn’t been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position.
“Keep your head up and you will go again.”
The now Fiorentina stopper was praised by his followers for his compassionate stance.
One posted: “Coming from one of the best in the position.”
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A second wrote: “Absolutely. Goalkeeping is brutal every mistake is so visible, and the pressure never really lets up.”
A third commented: “One moment doesn’t define a career. The greatest keepers are those who have the courage to stand back up.”
A fourth said: “This is so real. It takes someone who has been between the sticks to know goalkeepers experience.”
Another added: “The loneliest position on the pitch… one mistake and the world sees it.”
Kinsky was also defended by former Spurs and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
The retired England stalwart watched on at his errors while working as a pundit for TNT Sports.
He said: “I’ve been trying to make sense of it, and my overall feeling is, my heart is absolutely broken for the lad.
“I know it’s a tough school, it’s Champions League, it’s such an important game.
“I’m not making excuses for the lad, he had a horrible 14 minutes. A slip and that third goal was just everything he didn’t want to happen.
“I don’t even know what to say. I’ve seen the lot, I’m just heartbroken for the lad.
“This Tottenham team is all over the shop at the moment.”
Under pressure Tudor defended his decision to substitute Kinsky after the 5-2 defeat at the Metropolitano.
The Croatian claimed that he was trying to defend the former SK Slavia Prague prospect.
He said: “What happened is very rare. I’ve been coaching for 15 years, I’ve never done this.
“It was necessary to preserve the guy, preserve the team. Incredible situation, nothing to comment.”
