Arsenal delivered one of the most stunning European displays in their history on Tuesday to beat ten-man Real Madrid 3-0 at Emirates Stadium and take firm control of this Champions League quarterfinal tie.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a string of magical saves but could do nothing as Declan Rice scored two devastating second-half free-kicks before Mikel Merino added a third.
Rice had never scored a direct free-kick in his career but after a goalless first half, he did so here twice in the space of 12 minutes as Madrid were made to pay for wasting a series of earlier openings with Kylian Mbappé the biggest culprit.
Rice’s 58th-minute opener from 31.9 yards out beat Real’s four-man wall before his second found the top corner with unerring accuracy. Merino’s smart first-time finish five minutes later put the home side in dreamland and Real were unable to muster a response.
A wretched evening for Madrid got even worse in stoppage-time as Eduardo Camavinga was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for dissent.
The Gunners have not reached the Champions League semifinals since 2009 but Real Madrid — the defending champions — now face a mammoth task to overturn this deficit in next Wednesday’s second leg after a night that will live long in the memory for those in the red half of north London. — James Olley
Arsenal nab historic Champions League win to be remembered
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta challenged his team to “build our own story” when confronted with the imbalance in Champions League historic pedigree compared to Real Madrid. And they certainly did just that on a remarkable evening.
Real Madrid, 15-time winners and littered with superstars, were the favourites to progress, but Arsenal defied the absence of several key players through injury to produce a result that will go down as one of the finest in their history. They have never won Europe’s premier club competition, coming closest in 2006 when losing the final to Barcelona.
Just where this victory will rank of course depends on the outcome of next week’s second leg. But few thought the Gunners capable of such an emphatic victory over European heavyweights Madrid.
After fading behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race, a result like this will renew hope Arsenal could yet still end this season with silverware to show for their progress under Arteta. Whatever happens, this was an evening which everyone of an Arsenal persuasion will boast “I was there” for years to come. — Olley
Mbappé, Vinícius fail to capitalise on Real Madrid’s chances
Madrid’s two attacking stars, Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, both shone in the last round of the Champions League against Manchester City. Vinicius dominated the first leg in Manchester, and Mbappé finished the job with a hat trick at the Bernabéu.
Here at the Emirates, both players had moments — especially in the first half — when they might have helped dictate the outcome too. But they didn’t make the most of them and ultimately let Real Madrid down.
Mbappé had three shots. So did Vinicius. None of them really tested David Raya in the Arsenal goal, either flying well off target, or falling too close, and too comfortably, for the goalkeeper.
Real Madrid aren’t a team that need to dominate possession. With two of the game’s fastest players in Mbappé and Vinicius, they’re often even happier to give up the ball, knowing that when they subsequently win it back, they’ll be in a position to release one or both of their speedy front two into space.
And in the first half, several times, that’s exactly what happened. Arsenal gave up the ball cheaply, Madrid picked the right pass, and suddenly, Mbappé and Vini were away. Mbappé’s chance after half an hour, free in the inside-left channel — what Arsenal fans might call the “Thierry Henry position” — should have led to the game’s opening goal. Instead, Mbappé’s effort was tame.
The relative ease with which Madrid were able to find Mbappé in such dangerous positions was something they can look to do — this time with some added end product — at the Bernabéu. But the contrast between a subdued Vinicius and a sparkling Bukayo Saka on the wing for Arsenal was striking. — Alex Kirkland
Rice enjoys a breakout performance at the right time
When Declan Rice started taking corners last season, it was an innovation that added a fresh dimension to his play. He can now add free-kick specialist to an ever-expanding resume after a quite incredible intervention, not once, but twice.
Rice had never scored from a direct free-kick in his career and then, out of nowhere, he did so twice in 12 minutes. And neither was a fluke. Both were curled with such astonishing precision that Courtois — who had up until then looked almost unbeatable — was left grasping at thin air.
Set-piece coach Nicolas Jover — who already has a mural in London for his impact on the team — was seen on replays appearing to tell Rice to try curling his first effort around the wall. Whatever the instruction, it required a technique and placement of the highest order and Rice delivered just that.
Rice’s move to Arsenal from West Ham in 2023 cost £105m, and in these parts the fans sing “we got him half price.” On occasions like this, it is hard to disagree. — Olley
Courtois the one bright spot for Real Madrid
Real Madrid conceded three goals tonight, but none of them were goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ fault. In fact, without the return to the team of Madrid’s — and perhaps Europe’s — No. 1 goalkeeper, how much worse could this have been?
Madrid took their time bringing Courtois back from injury, to make sure he was fit and available for this game at the Emirates. With back-up goalkeeper Andriy Lunin also unavailable, that even meant youngster Fran González making his debut in LaLiga at the weekend. But Madrid didn’t mind that. The Arsenal game was the only priority. And tonight, we saw why.
Real Madrid with Courtois in goal are a different proposition, especially in the Champions League. The Belgian has delivered so many masterclasses in this competition — remember those nine saves against Liverpool in 2022 — and tonight was another reminder that his value can’t be overstated.
His double save from Rice and Gabriel Martinelli might have been the first half’s defining moment. When, in the second half, the goals came, Courtois was blameless. Maybe he could have positioned the Madrid wall a little better for Rice’s first. But still, the curl the midfielder got on the ball made it near unsaveable.
Then, there were two more saves, from Martinelli and Merino, before Rice’s second. Again, Courtois couldn’t get near it. No goalkeeper could. If Madrid are still in this tie at all — and that’s debatable, given this performance — it’s because of Courtois. — Kirkland
Arsenal’s makeshift backline holds firm
Gabriel Magalhães‘s season-ending hamstring injury broke up his stoic centre-back partnership with William Saliba, and there were justified concerns over whether Jakob Kiwior would prove an able deputy. A mistake inside the opening 40 seconds against Real Madrid multiplied those concerns as his miskick enabled Mbappe to register the game’s first shot on target.
Indeed, there were several nervous moments but Kiwior grew in confidence as the game wore on, and Arsenal got the balance right in protecting him. For example, it was noticeable how infrequently right-back Jurriën Timber went forward. That caution was understandable given his responsibility in guarding against Vinicius Junior’s pace on the counter-attack but it did also rob Arsenal of the Martin Odegaard-Saka-Timber overload on the right-hand side which the Gunners so often use to break opponents down.
However, Saka gave David Alaba a torrid time all on his own, winning the free-kick which led to Rice’s 58th-minute opener. Ultimately, Arteta could have tried to rush back Ben White — only recently returned from injury — but he trusted Kiwior to do the job and that call was vindicated. — Olley
Real Madrid need another big Bernabéu comeback
Real Madrid have been here before. The last decade is littered with dramatic, second leg comebacks at the Santiago Bernabéu, building on the club’s long history — sometimes overplayed — of European drama.
In 2016, they lost 2-0 at Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarterfinals. They won the second leg 3-0 at the Bernabéu. In the 2022 knockout stage, on their most famous run yet, they lost 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain, only to win the second leg 3-1. They later lost 4-3 at Manchester City, and went on to go through 6-5 on aggregate.
But none of those first-leg defeats felt quite like this. Overturning a 3-0 deficit is another order of magnitude entirely. And this was no freak result: Madrid, barring the Man City playoff, have not been playing well all season.
In big games they have struggled, humbled twice by Barcelona in El Clásico, and again tonight. Can they do it? At the Bernabéu, you’d never rule anything out. An early Madrid goal in the second leg could rattle an Arsenal who are inexperienced at this level, and with the crowd behind Madrid, and so much star power in the forward line, you never know.
But there is now no margin for error. “At the Bernabéu, anything can happen,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said last week after a 4-4 draw with Real Sociedad put Madrid into the cup final. If Madrid are to reach the Champions League semis, that statement will be tested to the limit. — Kirkland
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