Rice’s free kick magic lifts Arsenal past Madrid 3-0

Post by: Omar Nasser

Photo : Reuters

Arsenal played a strong game and beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first match of their Champions League quarter-final. The match was played at Emirates Stadium. Declan Rice scored two amazing goals from free kicks. Mikel Merino scored the third goal to help Arsenal take a big lead.

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At the start of the game, Arsenal looked better. Real Madrid looked slow and made mistakes. One close moment happened when Camavinga blocked a teammate’s kick and almost scored in his own goal. Later, Thomas Partey tried to score, but the ball went straight to the Real Madrid goalkeeper, Courtois.

Real Madrid tried to come back and attack. But they only got a few chances because Arsenal made small mistakes. Real Madrid’s passes and moves didn’t look sharp.

Right before halftime, Rice hit a strong header, but Courtois made a great save. He also saved the next shot quickly. But in the second half, Rice scored a brilliant goal. In the 58th minute, he hit a free kick that went around the wall of players and into the goal. It was his first free kick goal as a senior player. Rice said, “I was going to cross it, but I looked at the wall and where the goalkeeper stood and thought—I’ll take the shot.”

Soon after, Arsenal almost scored again, but Courtois saved shots from Martinelli and Merino. One of them was even cleared off the line by David Alaba.

Rice’s second goal came in the 70th minute. It was even better than the first one. He curled the ball right into the top corner of the goal. Real Madrid’s players looked surprised and quiet.

Fifteen minutes before the end, Merino scored the third goal. Myles Lewis-Skelly passed the ball back to him, and Merino kicked it into the bottom corner. The pass before that came from Leandro Trossard, who had just come on as a sub.

This big win gives Arsenal a strong lead before they travel to Madrid next week. The team that wins this match will play either Aston Villa or Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said, “It was a great game. We had energy and belief. But next week we play in Madrid, and we must do it again.”

Real Madrid had a bad end to the game when Camavinga got a second yellow card for kicking the ball away and will now miss the next match.

Real had some small chances, like one when Mbappe shot the ball badly after a fast run. But overall, they didn’t look strong and have now let in 11 goals in their last four matches. Arsenal, on the other hand, always win when they score three goals in the first leg of a European match.

Real player Lucas Vazquez, who did not play in the game, said his team didn’t play well but are not giving up. “This is hard, but if any team can come back, it’s us—especially at home with our fans,” he said.

Real Madrid will remember the 1975-76 season when they lost 4-1 to Derby County in the first leg but came back to win 5-1 at home. They will hope to do the same again next week.

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