Declan Rice has revealed the seven-word instruction Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka gave him before he scored his first free-kick of the evening against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Declan Rice, 26, played a pivotal role in Arsenal’s emphatic victory over Real Madrid at the Emirates, delivering a standout performance that left fans in awe.
The England midfielder broke the deadlock in the 58th minute with a beautifully curled free-kick that left Thibaut Courtois helpless. But he wasn’t done — just 12 minutes later, Rice struck again from a set-piece, doubling Arsenal’s lead with another sensational effort. Mikel Merino then sealed the result with a well-taken third goal just five minutes later.
Interestingly, Rice admitted after the match that he went against the advice of Arsenal’s set-piece specialist Nicolas Jover. Speaking to Prime Video, Rice said, “I don’t know if it will ever sink in. I fancied both free-kicks and had the confidence — I’m honestly a bit speechless.”
He added, “Martin [Odegaard] told me to cross it, and Jover wanted that too, but it didn’t make sense to me. We practice these all the time, and I just felt it was right to go for goal.”
Bukayo Saka encouraged Rice to trust his instincts, saying, “If you feel it, go for it.” Taking that advice to heart, Rice assessed the wall and the keeper, felt confident he could curl it in — and did exactly that.
Recalling the build-up to his second goal, Rice explained that the original plan was to take a short set-piece, but Kylian Mbappé was positioned too close to allow it. “He was standing in the middle, so I just decided to go for it. I practice those a lot, and after scoring the first, I felt like I had nothing to lose,” he said.
Now facing a daunting three-goal deficit, Real Madrid will need something extraordinary in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu. Even their manager Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged the odds were stacked against them.
“Our chances are slim, but we’ll give it everything,” Ancelotti said post-match. “After tonight, it feels like there’s no way back — but football is unpredictable. No one thought Arsenal would score two free-kicks. Stranger things have happened at the Bernabéu.”
