Declan Rice scored the first two direct free kicks of his career to help Arsenal secure a commanding 3-0 victory over defending champions Real Madrid in Tuesday\'s Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Emirates Stadium.
Rice\'s stunning 58th-minute free kick opened the scoring after a goalless first half in which Real Madrid\'s Kylian Mbappé squandered several promising opportunities. The England international curled his effort past Thibaut Courtois, who had previously denied Arsenal with multiple impressive saves.
Just 12 minutes later, Rice delivered an even more spectacular free kick to double the advantage, beating Courtois with pinpoint accuracy. Mikel Merino added a third goal five minutes later to give Arsenal a substantial lead heading into next week\'s return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
\"To score my first free kick in a game is a special one. And then when I got the second one. I just had the confidence. I\'m speechless, really,\" Rice told Amazon Prime following the match.
\"To beat Real Madrid in this competition. It\'s a big night for us. When you score a goal, it\'s the best feeling in the world. It didn\'t make sense from that angle to cross the ball. It would have to be a delicate pass. And when I saw the wall, it didn\'t make sense to cross. You know what, I\'m happy I took it because it was magic.
\"I don\'t think it\'s going to hit me what I\'ve done tonight. It\'s a historical night, and to score two goals against Real Madrid. We want to win this competition. But we have to take it one game at a time.\"
The midfielder, who had never scored a direct free kick in his 339-game club career prior to Tuesday night, described his second effort as \"magic,\" explaining his decision-making process: \"It didn\'t make sense from that angle to cross the ball. It would have to be a delicate pass. And when I saw the wall, it didn\'t make sense to cross.\"
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed that the team had discussed their free-kick drought in recent months. \"We have talked in the last few months, we haven\'t scored a direct free kick since September 2021, Burnley away, Martin Ødegaard,\" Arteta said. \"To score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude of that quality from the same player, a player that has never scored a free kick before in his career, I mean, what are the odds?\"
Real Madrid\'s disappointing evening was compounded when Eduardo Camavinga received a second yellow card for dissent in stoppage time, ruling him out of the return fixture.
The convincing victory puts Arsenal in a strong position to reach their first Champions League semifinal since 2009, though Arteta remained cautious about the second leg.
\"Tonight we have one step in the right direction for sure,\" said Arteta. \"And now we have to go to the Bernabéu. We\'re going to have to elevate the level again to be the team that we want to be there and to prepare the game to win it.\"
Despite the commanding lead, Arsenal will be wary of Madrid\'s history of dramatic European comebacks at the Bernabéu, where they have overturned significant deficits in previous Champions League campaigns.
Rice expressed confidence in Arsenal\'s ambitions, stating: \"I don\'t think it\'s going to hit me what I\'ve done tonight. It\'s a historical night, and to score two goals against Real Madrid. We want to win this competition. But we have to take it one game at a time.\"
Via James Olley/ESPN