Arsenal and England star Declan Rice left Real Madrid stunned after scoring two brilliant free-kick goals in a 3-0 win during the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash last Tuesday. The dominant performance handed Mikel Arteta’s side a strong lead heading into the decisive return leg this week.
Jude Bellingham, Rice’s England teammate and Real Madrid midfielder, admitted he was taken aback by Rice’s unexpected set-piece brilliance. While he was aware of Rice’s ability on corners and dead-ball situations, seeing him score back-to-back free-kicks was a first.
“Not really, no,” Bellingham responded when asked if Madrid were surprised by Arsenal’s performance. “We knew how good they are. The free-kicks, though, were surprising! I’ve never seen Dec do that before. I always knew he could take set pieces well, but those free-kicks were something else. Credit to him. But aside from that, we expected them to be a strong side.”
Despite the first-leg setback, Bellingham emphasized Real Madrid’s determination to mount a comeback. “The word we’ve used most in the dressing room these past few days is ‘remontada’,” he revealed, signaling Los Blancos’ focus on turning the tie around at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham
EnglandThis season he played in total 12 times for 1047 minutes for Champions League.
Jude Bellingham scored 3 goals for Real Madrid. He procured 3 assists. He received 3 yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 2nd in Champions League. In the last match Real Madrid won 1-0 against Deportivo Alavés.
Real Madrid performance and stats
Real Madrid
Real Madrid is currently 11th in the Champions League with 15 points.
In the last 12 games, it has won 8 times and lost 4 times. In its last match, Real Madrid lost 3-0 against Arsenal.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 20 goals and conceding 12.
Real Madrid will play the next match in Champions League against Arsenal on Wednesday 16th of April in Madrid. The prediction is Real Madrid winning the match.
Declan Rice
Declan Rice
This season he played in total 10 times for 736 minutes for Champions League.
Declan Rice scored 4 goals for Arsenal. He procured two assists. He received 2 yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 2nd in Champions League. In the last match Arsenal drew 1-1 against Brentford.
Arsenal performance and stats
Arsenal is currently 3rd in the Champions League with 19 points.
In the last 11 games, it has won 8 times, drew twice, and lost once. In its last match, Arsenal won 3-0 against Real Madrid.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 16 goals and conceding 3.
Arsenal will play the next match in Champions League against Real Madrid on Wednesday 16th of April in Madrid. The prediction is Real Madrid winning the match.
