Declan Rice put Arsenal on the brink of reaching the Champions League semifinals by curling home two free kicks that Real Madrid’s most famous “galacticos” would have been proud of.
Rice opened the scoring by bending one free kick around the Madrid wall in the 58th minute and sent another into the top corner in the 70th as Arsenal won the first leg of the quarterfinals 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
With Madrid great Roberto Carlos looking on in the stands, Rice put on a display of power and bend reminiscent of the many free kicks scored by the Brazilian defender in his day — or by his teammates David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Figo for that matter.
Unlike those names, Rice has not been known for his free kick prowess — until now. In fact, he had never scored from a direct free kick before in his career.
“It is been in the locker, but I have hit the wall too many times or it is gone over the bar,” Rice told broadcaster Amazon Prime. “Originally we were going to cross it and then I have just seen the wall and the goalkeeper’s position. So I thought just go for it.” Mikel Merino added the third in the 75th to put Arsenal on the brink of returning to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.
In the other quarterfinal match Tuesday, Inter Milan won 2-1 at Bayern Munich.
Making matters worse for Madrid, key midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for a second booking in the final minutes and will miss the return leg at Santiago Bernabeu stadium on April 16.
Rice and Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka were both substituted after picking up knocks, but Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said neither looked like a serious injury.
Only a handful of saves from Courtois prevented the scoreline from getting even bigger.
“The second half was amazing, we played with full gas from the side,” Merino said. “When this side plays like that the crowd go with us.” While Madrid can never be written off at home, even coach Carlo Ancelotti did not sound too hopeful of a comeback.
“If you look at the game tonight, there is no possibility,” Ancelotti said. “But in football everything can happen. We have to believe.” Kylian Mbappé had Madrid’s best scoring chance in the 31st when he was played through on goal by Jude Bellingham but the forward was denied by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
It was the teams’ first meeting since 2006, when Arsenal eliminated Madrid in the round of 16. That was also the last time Arsenal came close to winning the competition for the first time, losing the final to Barcelona.
Judging by this display, Arsenal could well be a contender again this year.
In one of the biggest European nights the Emirates has seen — the stadium opened for the 2006-07 season — Arsenal delivered one of its best performances of the season against a team that has won the Champions League six times since 2014.
And for once in this competition, Madrid simply didn’t have an answer.
The 15-time European champions seemed content to sit back and wait for counterattacks in the first half but was pegged back for most of the second.
“In the second half we forgot how to play good soccer. I will not say we panicked, but we weren’t comfortable with the ball,” Courtois said. “They scored two great goals from free kicks and added a third. We did not respond well, 3-0 is difficult but we have to believe in this team. I believe it is possible.”
And while Courtois pulled off two spectacular double saves in the game, he could not get close to either of Rice’s free kicks.
“Maybe I could have put another man in the wall, but I did not think he could bend it like he did,” Courtois said. “And the second goal is simply spectacular.”
“It is not going to hit me now because there’s another leg to go. But in a few years time this will really hit me that what I have done tonight was really special,” Rice added.
