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Declan Rice celebrates after scoring a free kick for Arsenal Declan Rice stunned Real Madrid with two brilliant free kicks - the first scored in his career - as Arsenal took a commanding 3-0 first leg lead in their Champions League quarter-final. Mikel Arteta had asked the Arsenal fans to arrive early to create an impressive atmosphere inside the stadium, and the team responded by starting the game quickly with a number of dangerous crosses into the Madrid penalty area. It took until the 20th minute for Madrid to have their first real chance, when Vinicius Jr curled an effort wide. But Rice took control of the tie for Arsenal in the second half. The Gunners were the better side all evening and took the lead in the 58th minute, when Rice curled the first of two excellent free-kicks round the Real Madrid wall into the corner of the net past Thibaut Courtois. Rice scored his second of the night with a free-kick of equal quality 12 minutes later, bending another long-range effort into the top right-hand corner to leave Madrid stunned. Mikel Merino then made sure it was a memorable night for Arsenal when he curled a shot into the bottom corner from inside the area just five minutes later. Things only got worse for Madrid when Eduardo Camavinga was sent off in stoppage time for picking up a second yellow card. Arsenal have not reached the semi-finals stage of the Champions League since the 2008-09 season, but they have given themselves a huge chance of progressing to the last four with this result. 'I don't think it's going to hit me' - Rice revels in free-kick magic This video can not be played Arteta proud of 'complete performance' in Real win Arsenal came into this match as the less-experienced side in European competition, compared with serial winners Madrid, but showed a ruthlessness and quality which Carlo Ancelotti's side could not match. Arteta has been dealt a series of blows this season with injuries to key players and the focus before the game was on who would partner William Saliba at centre-back, with Jakub Kiwior ultimately getting the nod. But those issues seemed trivial once the game got under way as Arsenal started the match so impressively. Bukayo Saka caused David Alaba all sorts of problems and one of his crosses should have been turned in during the first half. Rice's two free-kicks nearly lifted the roof off of the Emirates before Merino added a third to seal the win, taking on the mantle of striker in the absence of Kai Havertz. Merino has now scored five goals in his past nine appearances for Arsenal. It could have been even better for Arsenal as Jude Bellingham and Alaba had to clear balls off the Madrid goal line. In a season where injuries have robbed Arteta of many key players, he has managed to lead his team to a place where they can start dreaming about a Champions League semi-final. Real Madrid were not in their best form coming into this match, with just two wins in their previous five matches. Goalkeeper Courtois had said he was aware of the threat Arsenal possessed from set-pieces, but the 15-time winners of the competition looked uncomfortable throughout. The flair and sharpness in play expected of Ancelotti's team was missing and their best effort from Kylian Mbappe was saved by David Raya. Madrid have kept just two clean sheets in their past 11 games in all competitions and will need to keep Arsenal out and score four at the Bernabeu next week to secure what will be an unlikely win. However, Madrid have produced some moments of magic in this competition and Arsenal will know another solid performance is needed to ensure their progression. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 8th April 2025 at 21: 54 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Mikel Arteta Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Carlo Ancelotti Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Mikel Arteta Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Carlo Ancelotti Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 We're still improving Match stats. Let us know what you think. UEFA Champions League All competitions All competitions All competitions This will be just the third meeting between Arsenal and Real Madrid in European competition, following their last 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League in 2005-06. Arsenal won 1-0 in the first leg away from home, before drawing 0-0 at Highbury in the second leg (1-0 on aggregate). Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Real Madrid have played 22 matches against English sides in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (W11 D5 L6). This is 10 more than any other team against sides from a specific nation in this period, after Liverpool and Manchester City’s 12 meetings each with Spanish teams. Real Madrid have beaten more different opponents than any other side in European Cup/UEFA Champions League history (111) – including seven different English sides – but Arsenal are not one of them (D1 L1). The only other English team to avoid defeat in their first three games against Real Madrid in the European Cup/Champions League are Liverpool (3). Real Madrid haven’t lost the first leg in any of their last eight knockout stage ties in the UEFA Champions League (W5 D3); their joint-longest run in the competition in first leg meetings, along with another eight-game run between April 2016 and February 2019. Arsenal have led for longer than any other team in UEFA Champions League matches this season (568 minutes overall), while only Internazionale (5 minutes) have trailed for fewer minutes than the Gunners (65) in the competition this term. Arsenal rank first in the UEFA Champions League this season for x G against per game (0. 88), while only Internazionale (0. 2) have conceded fewer goals per game (0. 6). Indeed, only in 2005-06 (runners-up) have Arsenal conceded fewer per match in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League campaign (0. 31). Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé has scored 10 goals in 16 games against English teams in the UEFA Champions League – four of which have come in two matches this season (against Manchester City in the play-off round). The only player to net more knockout stage goals against English sides in a single campaign is Karim Benzema, who scored seven for Real Madrid in 2021-22 (five games). The only English player to start in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final while aged 18 or younger is Jude Bellingham (17 v Manchester City in April 2021), while Arsenal pair Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri could become the only players other than Bellingham to do so here (both aged 18). Luka Modric has averaged 17. 5 line-breaking passes per 90 in the UEFA Champions League this season; the most of any player with 500+ minutes played. Despite only playing 66 minutes against Atlético Madrid last time out, Fede Valverde (13 in 128 minutes) was the only player who made more line-breaking passes than Modric (12) on either side. Two of the top five-ranked goalkeepers for goals prevented in the UEFA Champions League this season (based on x G on target faced, excluding OGs) could feature here, in the form of Arsenal’s David Raya (+3. 7, 5th) and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois (+4, 3rd). Match ends, Arsenal 3, Real Madrid 0. Second Half ends, Arsenal 3, Real Madrid 0. Second yellow card to Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid). Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid). Substitution, Arsenal. Ben White replaces Jurriën Timber because of an injury. Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time. Attempt blocked. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Fran García. Substitution, Real Madrid. Brahim Díaz replaces Rodrygo. Foul by Kieran Tierney (Arsenal). Rodrygo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Fran García. Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Rodrygo (Real Madrid). Delay over. They are ready to continue. Substitution, Arsenal. Kieran Tierney replaces Declan Rice because of an injury. Substitution, Real Madrid. Fran García replaces David Alaba. Delay in match because of an injury Declan Rice (Arsenal). Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid). Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.