So nice that Rice does it twice

Two free-kicks from the midfielder and Merino's goal put Arsenal on course to eliminate defending champions Madrid

- Dhiman Sarkar

KOLKATA: In 402 matches for club and country, Declan Rice had never scored from a direct free-kick. Yet, there he was, alone. This was between Rice, the Real Madrid 'wall' and Thibaut Courtois in goal 30 yards away. Rice's shot arced past Federico Valverde into the inky night before curling into goal.

"As soon as it left my foot, I knew it had a chance," he said. Didn't think he could bend it like this, said Courtois.

Champions League has seen some stirring second-leg comebacks. Barcelona did it against Paris St-Germain and were done in by Liverpool. Real have never beaten Arsenal but "in football everything can happen," said Carlo Ancelotti after Tuesday's 0-3 defeat in London. Few know that better than the defending champions and record 15-time winners.

Mikel Arteta had asked Arsenal to "make it happen", a slogan where each player had to be convinced that he could be the differentiator. The knee slide, the nod and the finger on the badge showed that Rice believed he could be one. Believed enough to ignore the advice of set-piece coach Nikolas Jover, responsible for most of their 21 goals from dead ball situations this term, to put in a cross. This was Arsenal's first goal from a direct free-kick since September 2021.