Declan Rice could barely contain his delight after two stunning free‑kicks from the England midfielder gave Arsenal a famous victory against Real Madrid that leaves Mikel Arteta’s side within touching distance of reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009.
Mikel Merino ensured Arsenal will head to the Spanish capital for the second leg next Wednesday with a commanding 3-0 advantage over the champions after a whirlwind second half.
Having been indebted to their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for keeping the scores level at half‑time, Carlo Ancelotti’s side were blown away as Rice scored twice within 12 minutes from free‑kicks despite never having managed to do so in almost 350 previous appearances in his senior career.
“I don’t know if it will ever sink in,” he said. “To score the first and second – I fancied both and to have the confidence, I am a bit speechless, it is a nice bit of history to beat Madrid. I think in a few years’ time it’ll hit me that what I’ve done tonight is really special.”
Rice warned, though, that Arsenal cannot take anything for granted in the second leg against the 15‑time winners. “The manager just said with the individual quality they have it is scary and special things happen at the Bernabéu. We are not going there to defend, we are going to attack and we want to be in the semis.”
Arsenal lost against Barcelona in the 2006 final after defeating Real in the last 16 on the only previous occasion they have faced them. Arteta, who revealed he had consulted Pep Guardiola about how to get the better of Real after they knocked out Manchester City earlier in the competition, was adamant that they are only halfway towards reaching the last four for the third time in their history and he paid tribute to Rice for making it a night to remember for the club’s supporters as he scored Arsenal’s first goal from a direct free‑kick since Martin Odegaard against Burnley in September 2021.
“It’s been a long time so to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude from a player who has never scored a free‑kick before in his career – what are the odds? But he’s done it tonight,” the Arsenal manager said.
“I’m a big believer that the crowd played something with the energy they put in and it helped us massively to win the game.”
Ancelotti was bitterly disappointed with his side’s display as Real slumped to a second successive defeat. He said they had “struggled mentally and physically” after Rice’s free-kicks. “Normally this team raises their level but this was poor,” the Italian said.
“We have to be critical of ourselves and do everything we can to recover. We have to believe and we have to have trust because in the Bernabéu a lot of things can still happen.”
