Declan Rice Fires Arsenal Past Real Madrid in UCL First Leg

Arsenal stormed to a marquee 3-0 victory over defending European champions Real Madrid at the Emirates Stadium on April 8th.

In the first half, Real Madrid, in their usual style, preferred to sit deeper and play on the counter. Yet, it was this playstyle that led to Real Madrid’s downfall.  Mbappe had Madrid’s best chance of the game after a lovely through ball from Jude Bellingham, but his finish failed to beat David Raya.

On the whole, Arsenal was the better team in the first half, having 55% possession and four total shots on target with an xG of 0.89. The Gunners had a few opportunities via set-pieces, with Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left scrambling once or twice under the crossbar. The best moment was Courtois’ double save just before half-time, where he deflected Declan Rice’s header into the path of Gabriel Martinelli, who also had his shot saved by the Belgian.

But it was Rice who turned on the style in the second half. He scored a banger of a free kick in the 52nd minute that David Beckham would have been proud of. He fired in a bending strike from 30 yards out to give the Gunners the 1-0 advantage. It was his first-ever free-kick goal in his professional career.

And then lightning struck twice. 12 minutes later, Declan Rice hit another bending free-kick from 30 yards out, this time slightly left of his original position. Five minutes later, makeshift striker Mikel Merino made it 3-0 after great wingplay from Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Late in the game, Eduardo Camavinga was shown a red card after accumulating a second yellow, but it meant little as he was already suspended for the second leg.

The second leg will be played on Wednesday, April 16th, where Real Madrid will have a mountain to climb to have a chance of reaching the semifinal.