UEFA Champions League Player: Declan Rice has been named the UEFA Champions League Player of the Week following his two stunning free-kicks against Real Madrid on Wednesday (IST).
The midfielder put Arsenal ahead in north London when he curled the dead ball past Thibaut Courtois in the 58th minute, before netting his brace with an even more audacious finish from further out.
That means the midfielder became the first player in Champions League history to score two direct free-kick goals in a knockout stage match while it was just the fifth time overall a player had scored more than one in the same game, joining an exclusive club that contains Cristiano Ronaldo, Hakim Ziyech, Neymar and Rivaldo. What makes the feat even more impressive is that it was the first time in Rice's professional career that he had scored a direct free-kick.
