When Thomas Partey, an Arsenal teammate, got into a costly altercation late in the Gunners’ Champions League victory against Real Madrid, Declan Rice, an Arsenal midfielder, didn’t hold back his ire.
Rice had a key role in both legs of Arsenal’s quarterfinal matchup with Los Blancos. He scored twice in the team’s 3-0 victory at home before putting on an incredible show at the Bernabeu.
The midfielder was upset with Partey for receiving an absurd yellow card five minutes from the conclusion of the second leg, but he was spared a punishment when a VAR judgement overturned the penalty against him and erased his first-half yellow card.
During a brief altercation with Antonio Rudiger, who got away with an alleged stamp earlier in the game, Partey was penalised for pushing over former Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos.
Rice was aware of the consequences of Partey’s late caution as Arsenal was on the verge of losing. The Ghanaian will now miss the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final matchup with Paris Saint-Germain due to a suspension.
Arsenal defeated Real Madrid, the 15-time European champions and current Champions League holders, 5-1 on aggregate with to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
After Saka scored the first goal, Vinicius Jr. quickly equalised, but it was in vain as Arsenal defeated an unexpectedly weak Real Madrid team 2-1.
Rice was the clear star of both legs, taking centre stage with two outstanding performances and winning Player of the Match awards at the conclusion of each contest.
Arsenal may draw inspiration from the second leg of the Parisians’ quarterfinal matchup with Aston Villa, but he will be without his preferred midfield partner for the first leg of the semi-final matchup against PSG.
PSG appeared vulnerable at Villa Park as Unai Emery’s team fought back to win 3-2 and be eliminated by the odd goal in nine, despite having a 2-0 lead that evening to take a 5-1 lead overall.
Although Arsenal will be confident in their ability to defeat Luis Enrique’s club over two legs, Rice’s frustration at Partey’s unnecessary yellow card was evident in Madrid.
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