Nearly an hour into the first leg at Emirates Stadium, things were scoreless with scant few chances for either side — just the way Madrid wanted it — until Rice stepped up to take a free kick in the 58th minute. He bent it a yard or two around the outside of the post and snuck it back inside where not even 6-foot-7 Thibaut Coutrois could reach it.
12 minutes later, an encore of perhaps even higher quality. The first one was all about the bend and curl, but the second was pure power and placement straight into the top corner where not a single goalkeeper in the world could get. Strangely enough, Rice had never before scored a goal from a free kick in his career, but now he has two of the best you’ll ever see, on the same night, a dozen minutes apart.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost 1-2 at home to Inter.