Canon blows at the Gunners! Arsenal undermined Real Madrid in the quarter -final first leg of the Champions League on Tuesday evening at the Emirates. The men of Mikel Arteta first came across a Grand Thibaut Courtois before scoring two exceptional goals on a free kick.
Declan Rice offered a double on a free kick! The French international midfielder struck a slightly offset first free kick on the right to open the scoring (58th).
Ten minutes later, still full axis but slightly on the left, he armed an equally violent shot to find the left skylight of Courtois (70th). Between the two goals, the Belgian porter had made a double parade on a triple occasion of Arsenal (67th)!
Declan Rice in history
Declan Rice's free kicks are already one of the sensations of the European season. The former West Ham player is the first player to write a double free kick in the direct elimination of the Champions League (according to OPTA). And Real had not collected a direct free kick since the year 2000.
Before Declan Rice, there were only three players to have scored a double free kick since the 20e A century, Cristiano Ronaldo with the Merengues against FC Zurich in 2009, Neymar with PSG against the Red Star of Belgrade in 2018 as well as Hakim Ziyech with Galatasaray against Manchester United in November 2023.
