When the draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League was made, very few people gave Arsenal any hope of defeating Real Madrid.
Alas, here they stand, 90 minutes from a semi-final spot after defeating the great 15-time Champions of Europe, 3-0, in the first leg.
Declan Rice was the hero, crashing home two remarkable free-kicks before Spaniard Mikel Merino added a third to spark chaos inside the Emirates Stadium.
It was Mikel Arteta’s finest night as Arsenal manager and perhaps the club’s finest in Europe. This was a performance that will live long in the memory.
How Declan Rice scored his two free-kicks
Coming into this match, Arsenal’s club-record £105m signing had never scored a direct free-kick in his entire senior career.
Since moving to the Gunners, he has been a regular set-piece taker, racking up numerous assists courtesy of his pinpoint corner kicks. He’s also taken wide-set plays but hasn’t been given the license to shoot from many.
Minutes played
80
Expected Goals
0.47
Goals
2
Expected Assists
0.08
Touches
43
Shots on Target
4
Dribbles (Completed)
1 (1)
Lost Possession
4
Clearances
1
Interceptions
1
That was until Tuesday evening, where the former West Ham man stepped up and had arguably the best two moments of his career to date.
The first free-kick was special, bending and curving the ball around the wall and past Belgian stopped Thibaut Courtois.
If you thought that was a remarkable effort then the second was even better. This time Rice was standing to the left side of the goal and was further out, but that mattered not for the England international.
Up he stepped, thumping the ball viciously beyond the goalkeeper, right into the far corner. It was spellbinding, it was enough to leave most onlookers speechless.
However, speaking in his post-match press conference, taking a shot for the first free-kick was not initially part of the plan.
Why Declan Rice ignored team orders to score his free-kick
Rice is a brutally honest character and in his post-game interview, speaking to the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney on Amazon Prime, he admitted that the plan wasn’t to take a shot, most notably for his first free-kick.
In fact, he directly ignored instructions from not just skipper Martin Odegaard, but also heralded set-piece coach Nicolas Jover.
“I don’t know if it will ever sink in,” the midfielder began. “I fancied both (free-kicks) and to have the confidence, I am a bit speechless.”
Rice continued: “Martin [Odegaard] was saying to cross, I said it doesn’t make sense to chip it like that. We practice them all the time, (set-piece coach Nicolas) Jover is telling me to cross and it didn’t make sense.”
As a result, a quick comment from Bukayo Saka inspired the 26-year-old to step up and hit it goalbound.
“Bukayo [Saka] said, “If you feel it, go for it”. I looked at the wall and keeper and said I could bend it and that’s what happened.”
Rice also detailed how the second free-kick played out. “We were going to touch and set it, but Mbappe was stood too close. He was in the middle and I just went with it. I practice it a lot. I had the confidence after the first, I had nothing to lose.”
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