LONDON (AP) - Declan Rice put Arsenal on the brink of the Champions League semifinals by scoring two magnificent free-kick goals against an unrecognizable Real Madrid in the match held in North London.
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Rice opened the scoring at 58 minutes with a free kick that went over Real Madrid’s wall and sent another curved shot to the upper corner at 70 minutes for Arsenal, who took the first leg of the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.
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Under the watchful eye of the great former Real Madrid player Roberto Carlos from the stands, Rice displayed power and accuracy that brought to mind the many free kicks scored by the Brazilian defender in his prime, or by his teammates David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, and Figo.
Is Rice a free throw specialist?
Unlike those names, Rice is not known for his ability with free throws. In fact, he had never scored a direct free throw in his career.
“I have done it in training, but I have hit the wall too many times or the balls go over the crossbar,” Rice told Amazon Prime. “Originally we thought it would be a cross and then I saw the wall and the goalkeeper’s position. So I thought to do it.”
Mikel Merino added the third goal at 75 minutes for Arsenal to dream of what would be their first semifinal since 2009.
To make matters worse, Madrid lost key midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who was sent off for a childish act with a second yellow card in injury time and will not be available for the return match at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium on April 16th.
While Arsenal seems to have a very comfortable advantage, with the team that has been European champions 15 times, you never know. “If you look at tonight’s match, there is no possibility,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “But in football, anything can happen. We have to believe.”
Inter takes the lead over Bayern Munich
In the other quarterfinal match of the Champions League played on Tuesday, Inter Milan defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in Germany.
The Nerazzurri inflicted the German team’s first home defeat in the competition in almost four years.
The Argentine Lautaro Martínez took advantage of his opportunity in the first half with a great goal.
In the second half, veteran Thomas Müller seemed to have rescued a 1-1 draw for Bayern five minutes before the end, but Davide Frattesi scored the winning goal three minutes later.