Declan Rice’s masterful free-kicking put Arsenal within striking reach of a spot in the semi-finals as the Gunners swept to a 3-0 victory over Champions League winners Real Madrid.
Rice scored two spectacular free kicks in the second half of the first leg of the quarterfinal at the Emirates Stadium.
In the final moments, Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid was sent off for kicking the ball away, leaving the Spanish powerhouses in ruins after Mikel Merino added Arsenal’s third goal.
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Even Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, who is always so inspired on Champions League evenings, was unable to come close to the England midfielder’s thunderbolts, demonstrating the incomparable skill of Rice’s brace.
Amazingly, prior to the first of his rockets striking the back of the Real net, Rice had never scored a free-kick in his career.
It was exactly what Arsenal deserved with a mature performance that brutally exposed Real Madrid, who were plagued by injuries.
Mikel Arteta’s men will travel to the Bernabeu for the second leg on April 16 as firm favourites to advance to a semi-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa, who meet in their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
The Gunners have not reached the Champions League semi-finals since 2009, but that target is now within their grasp after an evening that will go down as one of the most memorable in the club’s storied history.
