The verdict: Can Arsenal advance further after shocking Real Madrid?

In their quarterfinal first leg at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal defeated Champions League holders Real Madrid 3-0 thanks to two incredible free kicks from Declan Rice.

 In the 58th minute, Rice, who had never scored a direct free-kick in his career, made a spectacular effort that went around the wall and barely inside Thibaut Courtois' left-hand post. This came during the initial free-kick, when most were anticipating Bukayo Saka to step up.

The goal sent the home crowd into a frenzy, and just ten minutes later, Rice outscored Courtois by crossing goal from the other side and sending his incredible strike into the top corner, leaving Madrid in disbelief.

Myles Lewis-Skelly's brilliant square pass on the outside of the box was followed inside five minutes by a sweetly-struck first-time finish into the bottom corner by Mikel Merino, who again started as a temporary striker. This made Arsenal's night even better.

Eduardo Camavinga, a midfielder, was sent off after earning a second yellow card as Real Madrid proceeded to fall into stoppage time.

Arsenal's dominant second half performance came after a breathless first half in which both teams missed opportunities, with Saka being a constant threat on his first start since returning from injury, Courtois making a double save from Rice and Gabriel Martinelli, and Thomas Partey's header being mistakenly blocked on the line by William Saliba.

 The 15-time winners of this competition, Real Madrid, threatened on the break when Kylian Mbappe blasted a one-on-one effort over and David Raya saved another, but the visitors did not contribute anything in the second half as Arsenal, spurred on by Rice's incredible free kicks, took total control of the match.

With Carlo Ancelotti's team needing two quick Courtois saves from Martinelli and Merino, followed by a goal-line clearance by David Alaba, again from Merino, the home team had a chance to score more than three goals.

However, the three goals were ultimately sufficient to send Real Madrid to their joint-heaviest Champions League knockout loss, while enabling Arsenal to celebrate a historic evening at the Emirates Stadium, making them the clear favourites to advance to the semifinals in the second leg next week.

 In the midst of the festive festivities, there was some worry when Saka and Rice both began to limp in the closing moments of the match, but Arteta maintained that their knocks did not appear to be serious.

Arteta: Magic moments and the atmosphere won the match, according to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's news conference:

 "I'm rather pleased.  We performed really well and went above and above to win the game.

 "There are two aspects to it.  The first is the ambiance, which was unlike anything I had ever experienced even fifteen minutes before to kickoff.  Magical moments come in second.  And it's summed up by Declan's free kicks.

"I had a strong belief that this could occur.  I sensed that we might cause a lot of issues in the build-up.

 However, you must make it happen.  You can deliver it if you believe it is possible and have that mindset.  Even though it's only halftime, we accomplished it.