Free kick magic from Declan Rice has seen Arsenal kick off the Champions League quarterfinals with a stunning 3-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Emirates. Rice delivered two excellent free kicks to beat Thibaut Courtois in net before Mikel Merino capped things off with the fourth goal of his career against Real Madrid.

The last time these two met in the 2022-23 group stage, Bayern secured back-to-back 2-0 victories. Benjamin Pavard, who scored for the Germans in those matches, now finds himself in the opposite camp. “I’m glad to meet Bayern again,” said Pavard.

Champions League will enter its business end as the quarterfinal begins, with the road to Munich heating up. After an intense group stage that saw the new Swiss system format being introduced for the first time as the tournament expanded to 36 teams.