Declan Rice stole the spotlight with two sensational free kicks as Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win over defending champions Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Rice struck twice from dead-ball situations in a dominant second-half display before Mikel Merino capped the night with a composed finish. Madrid’s hopes of advancing hang by a thread, worsened by Eduardo Camavinga’s stoppage-time red card for a second yellow.
Speaking to Amazon Prime, Merino praised Rice’s brilliance: “We had some free kicks recently that didn’t go in. But he’s got one of the best strikes I’ve ever seen. I’m not surprised – maybe you are. Hopefully there’s more to come.”
In Germany, captain Lautaro Martinez struck superbly for Inter Milan slightly against the run of play in the 38th minute after Harry Kane hit the post for the hosts when it looked easier to score.
Thomas Müller, who is leaving Bayern at the end of the season, leveled in the 85th, but fellow substitute Davide Frattesi won it three minutes later as Bayern lost a European home match for the first time in 22 games.
“We have only played the first half, the first leg,” Müller said. “We created the chances, but we didn’t manage to take the lead with Harry’s massive opportunity. Inter are sticky like chewing gum. They have some experienced players.”
Injury-hit Bayern now head to San Siro next Wednesday with a mammoth task, while Madrid face an even steeper climb at home against the Londoners at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Arsenal, with Merino again playing as an emergency striker, started brightly but initially failed to make their early dominance count.
Madrid, aiming for a record-extending 16th title, lined up as expected, and Kylian Mbappé was denied by David Raya as the first half wore on at the Emirates.
Rice’s header and Gabriel Martinelli’s follow-up were then kept out by fit-again Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
A curling free kick from Rice that started well outside the post broke the deadlock in the 58th minute, and he repeated the trick shortly afterward.
Madrid had little to offer in response, with Jude Bellingham quiet on his homecoming, and Merino punished his fellow Spaniards in the 75th minute.
In Munich, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany opted against replacing injured playmaker Jamal Musiala with Müller, who, it was announced Saturday, is leaving his only club at season’s end.
Instead, usual left back Raphaël Guerreiro played surprisingly as a No. 10, with right-footed defender Josip Stanišić at left back.
Serie A champions and leaders Inter, who beat Bayern to lift their third title in 2010, had former Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer and defender Benjamin Pavard in the lineup – and they were soon under pressure.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern, who last won the Champions League in 2020, had the first good chance when Michael Olise fired just wide before Kane headed straight at Sommer.
Guerreiro and Olise forced the Swiss stopper into saves midway through the first half, and Kane then clipped the post with a golden opportunity.
The Italians, runners-up to Manchester City two seasons ago, found promising positions but struggled to test Bayern’s young stand-in keeper Jonas Urbig before Martinez made the breakthrough.
The Argentina striker expertly finished off Marcus Thuram’s layoff to stun the Allianz Arena.
Martinez has now scored in four straight Champions League matches, with six goals in that stretch.
He nearly added a second in the 55th minute, but Urbig did well to deny him. Bayern threatened only sporadically after the break against a stout Nerazzurri defense, with Stanišić and Guerreiro going close before Müller turned in Konrad Laimer’s cross at the far post.
Frattesi then struck from close range as Bayern were caught napping, sealing a typically dogged Inter win.
Five-time champions Barcelona host 1997 winners Borussia Dortmund, and newly crowned French champions Paris Saint-Germain welcome 1982 winners Aston Villa in Wednesday’s first legs.
