Declan Rice produced a truly iconic display for Arsenal as he scored two outstanding free-kicks against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final — giving the Emirates faithful memories of a lifetime.
While Arsenal deserved to demolish Real Madrid 3-0 on the balance of play, Europe’s elite competition rewards moments of magic and the former West Ham United midfielder produced two on the night.
The first free-kick from Declan Rice to beat Thibaut Courtois curved in a manner that was comparable to David Beckham’s unforgettable strike against Greece in 2001 — as he reminded the world why he is a truly world-class set-piece taker.
Alan Shearer lauded Rice’s free-kicks against Real Madrid as the Arsenal dynamo stunned Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Alan Shearer hails “impressive” Declan Rice performance in Arsenal vs Real Madrid – free-kicks aside
But Shearer had his say on how Rice fared aside from his free-kicks in the middle of the park for Arsenal against Real Madrid.
Alan Shearer pinpointed how Rice was excellent in possession against Real Madrid and dominated the midfield battle to hand Arsenal a famous victory on Tuesday night.
Shearer said via BBC Sport: “If you take away Declan Rice’s two goals his performance back to front has been so impressive, his tackling, his driving forward with the ball.”
“A night to remember, certainly for Arsenal fans and certainly for Declan Rice.”
Another former England international apart from Alan Shearer in Matt Upson also lauded Rice’s heroics for Arsenal against Real Madrid, saying via BBC Sport: “He singlehandedly made the difference in this game.”
“He gave the team the confidence and belief and swagger to go on and just demolish Real Madrid in this second half.”
Declan Rice stats vs Real Madrid as he steals the show for Gunners
Nicolas Jover advised Rice to curve his first free-kick past the Real Madrid wall, the Englishman obliged and went on to dispatch his strike and send Arsenal fans into a frenzy.
Ahead of the contest, Steve McManaman claimed Federico Valverde is superior to Rice and it seemed like the 26-year-old heard the former Los Blancos winger’s claim and was on a mission to upstage his contemporaries.
But Alan Shearer certainly makes a point about Rice that is worth discussing that keeping aside his phenomenal free-kicks, he was brilliant against Real Madrid and the Arsenal dynamo’s statistics prove that.
| DECLAN RICE STATISTICS VS REAL MADRID | |
| GOALS | 2 |
| ACCURATE PASSES | 27/30 (90%) |
| PASSES INTO THE FINAL THIRD | 2 |
| SHOTS | 4 |
| DRIBBLED PAST | 1 |
Considering Mikel Arteta deployed Rice in an advanced role, his attacking metrics are what are worth analysing and making two passes into the final third and taking four shots shows how proactive he was further up the pitch.
But in and out of possession as well, the Europa Conference League winner was dribbled past just once against a team that featured tricksters such as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr while misplacing just three out of 30 passes in what was a truly remarkable showing.
