EMIRATES — There are free-kicks, and then there are free-kicks.
And Declan Rice scored two of them in 12 minutes. Who knew he was even that good at free-kicks?
Which to discuss first? The first is as good a place to start as any.
DECLAN RICE WITH A MOMENT OF MAGIC
An excellent free kick from the Arsenal midfielder see's the host go in front#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/Vopmz8aCUZ
Courtois had been unbreakable in the near hour that had come before, it had felt like one of those nights when a world leading goalkeeper earns his reputation.
How did he get that curl? Do the laws of physics permit it? Was some kind of sorcery involved?
That will come later, on the night Arsenal were ahead in an enthralling but, until then, frustrating Champions League quarter-final. The sort of game they draw, or even lose, on other evenings, and set a near impossible task for the second leg in Madrid.
DECLAN RICE HAS DONE IT AGAIN
Another excellent free kick puts Arsenal up 2-0 at the Emirates#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/xXezgRvfJq
In truth, until then Arsenal had been exciting without creating anything of much excitement: fuelling a stadium flickering with the fire of such a big occasion with half-chances and good intentions.
Courtois pulled off a sharp double save as the first half neared its end – leaping down to his right to keep out Rice’s header, then sticking out an arm to block Gabriel Martinelli’s rebound.
The problem is, possession and shots on target can mean nothing against a side that can win a game via sheer belief in their deservedness to win it. That, and having Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham in your starting line-up, of course.
Your next read
square FOOTBALLAston Villa, meet the new PSG – no ‘bling-bling’, girlfriends or Galacticos
square FOOTBALLNine wretched reasons for Leicester’s demise under Van Nistelrooy
square FOOTBALLWhere I predict Newcastle will finish – and why it’s bad news for Chelsea
square FOOTBALLGary Neville should take a long, hard look in the mirror
Antonio Rudiger hauls his ageing frame around, knee heavily-strapped in white tape, knowing that his body will hold together because he simply believes it will.
Federico Valverde played an outrageous ball bouncing across his penalty area, Saka steaming in, Rudiger calmly controlled the ball before hooking it on to David Alaba. Eduardo Camavinga slipped, surrounded by three Arsenal players, but still managed to knock the ball consummately back to Modric.
For 58 minutes, there was an assuredness that whatever was about to happen, Madrid would come out on top. Because, more often than not, that’s what they do.
Only then Rice shattered that belief with one barely believable swing of his right boot. Bellingham stood there, scowling. Mbappe’s face was stretched in shock.
Player of the match: Declan Rice
You will not see two better free-kicks in one game from the same playerMadrid were shell-shocked, the shockwaves from those stunning Rice hits sending reverberations through the game that left the Madrid players wobbling all over the place.
And Arsenal made the situation count, in a way that old Arsenal sides wouldn’t have done.
You never can be too sure, because Madrid will never stop believing.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Declan Rice scores two sensational free-kicks as Arsenal stun Real Madrid )
Also on site :