Arsenal's defensive mid-fielder Declan Rice converted a free kick into a terrific goal in the 70th minute of the quarter-final leg of the Champions League fixture against Real Madrid on Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium. Rice's second goal of the match that came in the 70th minute sent the fans into a frenzy as the ball spun into the net to leave Real Madrid stunned.
The first goal of the match was also netted by Rice in the 58th minute of the game and it also came through a direct freekick. But 10 minutes later, the 26-year-old outsmarted Thibaut Courtois by going across the opposite side of the goal as his stunning strike went into the top corner.
Watch the video here:
Mikel Merino netted the third and final goal for Real Madrid as he sent the ball to the bottom corner, with Arsenal emerging victorious by 3-0. It also proved to be Real Madrid's joint-heaviest defeat in a Champions League knockout fixture.
"We had a very complete performance, and we did what we had to do to win that game" - Mikel Arteta
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta opined that he knew the goals from Rice were coming, given how the build-up prior to that. As quoted by Sky Sports, Arteta said in the presser:
"I'm very proud. We had a very complete performance, and we did what we had to do to win that game. It's about two things. The first is the atmosphere, which was like I've never seen even 15 minutes before kick-off. And then the second is magic moments. And Declan's free-kicks sum it up. I was very convinced [this could happen]. I could sense in the build-up we could create a lot of problems."
