Arsenal fan's post about what Declan Rice was doing just hours before Real Madrid brace is going viral
An Arsenal fan's post about Declan Rice has gone viral after his incredible free-kick masterclass against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Rice produced heroics to open the deadlock with a stunning set-piece past Thibaut Courtois in the 58th minute, bending his strike around the wall from around 25 yards out.
It was Rice's first ever career free-kick in 338 club appearances but then he followed it up with an arguably even better effort 12 minutes last time, curling one into the top bins to send the Emirates Stadium into raptures for a second time.
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were left in disbelief at the exceptional quality of Rice's efforts but one Arsenal supporter spotted something beforehand.
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He noticed Rice's prowess in shooting drills on the pitch during the warm-up and highlighted how he was producing "screamers" which were finding the "top corner every time".
On X, Daniel NHS wrote: "Rice is hitting screamers in the warm-up. Top corner every time."
The post garnered a whopping 1 million views online and proved that practice really does make perfect.
Rice became the fifth player to score direct two free-kicks in the Champions League, as well as the 11th Englishman to bag a set-piece in Europe's premier club competition.
Rice went against Arsenal instructions
Remarkably, Rice went against what he was told do for his first free-kick which flew past Courtois. Both captain Martin Odegaard and set-piece coach Nicolas Jover instructed the former West Ham man to cross the ball.
However, the England international was not feeling it as it "didn't make sense" and it was Bukayo Saka who told him to take the shot on.
I don’t know if it will ever sink in," Rice said when speaking to Prime Video after the 3-0 win.
"I fancied both (free-kicks) and to have the confidence, I am a bit speechless."
"Martin [Odegaard] was saying to cross, I said it doesn’t make sense to chip it like that," he revealed. "We practice them all the time, (set-piece coach Nicolas) Jover is telling me to cross and it didn’t make sense.
“Bukayo [Saka] said, ‘If you feel it, go for it,’. I looked at the wall and keeper and said I could bend it and that’s what happened."
On Amazon's coverage, three-time Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf claims Courtois was fault for the first goal as "put up a bad screen" and claims only four players in the wall gave up "too much space".
He did praise Rice for "reading it and taking advantage" in superb fashion.
Arsenal take a 3-0 lead to the Santiago Bernabeu to play the 15-time Champions League winners in the quarter-final second leg on Wednesday.
Topics: Arsenal, Declan Rice, Fan Reactions, Champions League, Real Madrid
Josh Lawless