Declan Rice has shared the seven-word message teammate Bukayo Saka gave him just moments before he netted his first free-kick against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night.
The 26-year-old midfielder played a crucial role in Arsenal’s dominant victory over the Spanish giants at the Emirates Stadium.
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Rice broke the deadlock in the 58th minute with a beautifully placed free-kick that left Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois rooted to the spot. ..Continue Reading
He wasn’t done yet. Just 12 minutes later, Rice struck again with another brilliant set-piece, doubling Arsenal’s lead before Mikel Merino made it three with a composed finish shortly after.
Interestingly, Rice admitted he went against the advice of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover—despite the coach being a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s staff.
“I don’t know if it will ever sink in,” Rice said when speaking to Prime Video after the game.
“I fancied both (free-kicks) and to have the confidence, I am a bit speechless.”
“Martin [Odegaard] was saying to cross, I said it doesn’t make sense to chip it like that,” he revealed. “We practice them all the time, (set-piece coach Nicolas) Jover is telling me to cross and it didn’t make sense.”
“Bukayo [Saka] said, ‘If you feel it, go for it,’” Rice added. “I looked at the wall and keeper and said I could bend it and that’s what happened.”
The former West Ham player also detailed the process before his second goal.
“We were going to touch and set it, but Mbappe was stood too close,” he said.
“He was in the middle and I just went with it. I practice it a lot. I had the confidence after the first, I had nothing to lose.”
Madrid face the daunting task of clawing back a three-goal deficit in next Wednesday’s second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu — a challenge that even head coach Carlo Ancelotti conceded seems improbable.
“The chances are pretty slim but we have to try, and we’ll try and do it any way we can,” Ancelotti said in his post-match press conference.
“Let’s see if we can pull it off. It feels as though there’s no chance after tonight, but things always change in football. Nobody expected Arsenal to score two free-kicks, but anything can happen.
“It’s very tough, but stranger things have happened at the Bernabéu.”
