Kylian Mbappe and the 15-time European winners were overcome with astonishment as Declan Rice delivered a free-kick masterclass against Real Madrid. Rice’s exploits left them speechless.
With Thibaut Courtois in excellent form and pulling off an exceptional double save, Arsenal was able to dominate huge portions of the first half of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal. However, they were unable to find the final touch.
However, the Belgian custodian was unable to do much to prevent Rice from breaking the tie in the 58th minute of the match.
Rice performed his best David Beckham imitation and curled the ball right around the wall and beyond the diving Courtois to score one of the Champions League goals of the season. The goal was scored from around 25 yards away.
Rice has been quite dependable with his deliveries from set-pieces during the entire season; nonetheless, he unleashed an amazing shot that was so stunning that Mbappe was left speechless and unable to believe what he was seeing.
When the cameras moved on Mbappe and Rice’s England teammate Jude Bellingham, none of them could quite believe the incredible effort that the former West Ham player had put forth.
Incredible as it may sound, Rice did not stop there; in the 70th minute, he went on to make an even more impressive set-piece stunner than the one he had just produced.
Once again, Saka was fouled outside the area, and Rice did not waste any time in grabbing the ball and getting back into the playing position.
He dutifully duplicated the astonishing goal with one that was even more impressive than his first, bending the ball into the top corner from a similar distance in order to beat Courtois for a second time from a more expansive position.
Rice had never scored from a direct free kick in any of his 338 club appearances before to Tuesday night, but then two goals occurred in a span of twelve minutes.
In a season that has been nothing short of spectacular for the England international, he has already scored seven goals and provided eight assists.
Mikel Merino made it 3-0 with another superb goal from a Myles Lewis-Skelly cut-back shortly after that, giving Arsenal an extremely comfortable advantage to carry to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, April 16th. The Emirates exploded once again immediately after that.
Rice’s free kicks will undoubtedly be spoken about by Gunners fans for years to come, particularly if they go all the way and win the one trophy that has eluded them. Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp provide magic while playing for Arsenal, and supporters of the Gunners will certainly speak about them.
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