Arsenal stormed to a stunning 3-0 win over Champions League holders Real Madrid as Declan Rice’s free-kick masterclass left the Gunners within touching distance of a place in the semi-finals.
Rice scored two majestic free-kicks in the second half of the quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium. He becomes the first player to score two direct free kick goals in a knockout stage match in the Champions League.
Mikel Merino added Arsenal’s third goal before Real’s Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for kicking the ball away in the closing minutes to leave the Spanish giants in disarray.
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The brilliance of Rice’s brace cannot be understated, with even Real keeper Thibaut Courtois – usually so inspired on Champions League nights – unable to get anywhere near the England midfielder’s thunderbolts.
Incredibly, Rice had never scored a free-kick in his career before the first of his missiles hit the back of the Real net.
It was no more than Arsenal deserved for a mature performance that exposed injury-hit Real in ruthless style.
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.
Arteta had labelled the clash with Real as the “biggest night” of his career as he urged his players to write their own history by winning Arsenal’s first Champions League crown.
They rose to the challenge so successfully that even Arteta might have been surprised.
Arsenal trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by 11 points and look destined to finish as runners-up for a third successive season.
But the Champions League now offers Arteta genuine hope of a first major trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, providing they can finish the job in Madrid next week.
Beaten by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals last season, Arsenal’s only Champions League final appearance ended in defeat against Barcelona in 2006 – a run that included a last 16 victory over Real.
For Real, it was a chastening defeat as the 15-time European champions were punished for the flaws that had already seen them beaten 10 times in all competitions this term as they lag four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Jude Bellingham was largely anonymous and Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior posed only sporadic threats after a promising start.
Vinicius Junior threatened in the opening stages, curling wide after Mbappe picked him out inside the Arsenal area.
Mbappe’s electric pace took him clear of the Arsenal defence in another lightning raid, but the France star shot straight at David Raya.
Arsenal showed no signs of being cowed by Real’s star-studded attack and Rice’s towering header from Jurrien Timber’s cross forced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, who scrambled across to keep out Gabriel Martinelli’s effort from the rebound.
Mbappe lashed into the side-netting from an acute angle, but Real were unable to match Arsenal’s intensity in the second half and the Gunners deservedly took the lead in the 58th minute.
Rice stepped up 25 yards from goal and whipped a sublime free-kick around the Real wall and into the far corner.
It was a stunning strike that even former Real defender and set-piece maestro Roberto Carlos, watching from the Emirates stands, would have been proud of.
Arsenal almost struck again in a remarkable sequence that saw Courtois save Martinelli’s blast before Merino’s shot from the rebound was hacked off the line by David Alaba and Courtois again denied Merino.
Real were on the ropes and Rice landed another devastating blow in the 70th minute, lashing an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner from 20 yards as Courtois grasped at thin air.
As the ecstatic Arsenal fans roared “Declan Rice, we got him half praise”, that reference to his £105 million (AU$224 million) fee didn’t seem like hyperbole for once.
Arsenal weren’t finished yet and Merino put Arsenal in dreamland five minutes later with a clinical finish from 12 yards as the Emirates turned into a roiling red sea of celebration.
BAYERN STUNNED IN BRUTAL LATE BLOW
88th-minute Davide Frattesi goal took Inter Milan to a 2-1 win at Bayern Munich on Tuesday, giving the Italians the edge after the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Undermanned Bayern, nursing a bulging casualty ward, set the tone in the first half-hour, with Michael Olise and Harry Kane narrowly failing to break through.
Inter opened the scoring on the 38-minute mark when Marcus Thuram’s clever back-heel found Lautaro Martinez who blasted home.
The Italians maintained control until Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller, days after announcing a summer departure after 25 years at the club, scored the equaliser with a typical poacher’s finish with five minutes remaining.
Not content to be spectators to a Bayern fairytale ending, Inter broke on the counter just three minutes later, with Carlos Augusto finding Frattesi, who scored Inter’s second.
Inter, defeated in the final by Manchester City two seasons ago, have their noses in front in their bid to make the last four of the competition.
The late goal consigned Bayern to their first home defeat in the Champions League since 2021, a run of 22 matches.
Semi-finalists last season, Bayern’s preparation for the game was hampered by an injury crisis. The German giants were particularly hard hit in defence, with England veteran Eric Dier and Kim Min-jae the only two fit centre-backs.
Inter had their own injury woes in the rematch of the 2010 Champions League final but welcomed the news that Alessandro Bastoni, subbed off at halftime in Serie A on Saturday, was fit to start.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany replaced the injured Jamal Musiala by moving left-back Raphael Guerreiro to the number 10 position behind Kane, leaving veteran Mueller on the bench.
The hosts dominated the opening half hour, with Olise carving up the Inter defence at pace, but without finding the breakthrough.
Olise flashed just wide with seven minutes gone, hit a shot straight at Yann Sommer on the quarter-hour mark and found Kane to head at the ‘keeper shortly after.
The English-born France international dribbled through Inter’s defence to create Bayern’s best chance of the opening half, finding an unmarked Kane but the England captain hit his effort against the far post.
Inter’s forays into Bayern territory were brief but their confidence grew. The Italians were ahead shortly before half-time, Thuram backheeled blind to Martinez who blasted into the top of the net.
Once ahead, Inter found the control which had eluded them earlier, managing the tempo and the tone of the match.
With 56 minutes gone, Bayern’s rookie goalkeeper Jonas Urbig kept Martinez out with a superb reflex save at the near post.
Kompany brought Mueller on with 15 minutes remaining and the Bayern veteran seemed to have given the match a fairytale ending in typical fashion, catching the Inter defence napping to tap in at the far post.
The goal was just the third Inter have conceded in 11 games in Europe this season.
Three minutes later however, Inter broke on the counter, Augusto finding Frattesi to guide home.
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