'Magic Moment' Prize As Rice Defies Orders

Gunner nets two stunning free kicks in 3-0 Real win after over 300 games without any

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LONDON – Arsenal's Declan Rice pulled rank on his captain and the club's set-piece coach and it proved an inspired decision, as he struck two sublime free kicks to help secure a 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on April 8.

When Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka was fouled in a central position 30 metres from goal just before the hour mark at the Emirates with the score 0-0, Rice consulted with skipper Martin Odegaard, who told him to chip in a cross.

That was also the message coming from coach Nicolas Jover on the touchline and, considering Rice had never scored a direct free kick in well over 300 senior career games, it seemed like good advice in a game of such high stakes.

But the 26-year-old Rice had other ideas and dispatched a right-footed shot that curled around the wall and back inside the post to beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois – an effort that the watching Brazilian great Roberto Carlos would have been proud of.