Declan Rice's second Arsenal free-kick hit ridiculous xG number, Thibaut Courtois had no chance (2025)

Declan Rice is the standout performer for Arsenal, following on from a huge performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The midfielder has turned from defensive duelist to set-piece master, becoming an important option for Arsenal to take corners.

However, he added another weapon to his armoury as a brace of direct free-kicks for Declan Rice sealed his place in the history books.

The two goals were his first from direct free-kicks, helping Arsenal land a 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

With two important goals, many have questioned just how unstoppable the free-kicks were from Declan Rice – and the numbers make for ridiculous reading.

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Declan Rice’s second Arsenal free-kick goal was almost unstoppable based on expected goals

The first free-kick goal of the night sent the Emirates Stadium into celebratory scenes, with Rice explaining why he hit it against Real Madrid, rather than cross it.

While the bend was the most impressive part of the effort, curling it around the wall, it wasn’t the best effort of the night.

The second free-kick was somehow better, curling into the top corner and making the other effort look poor in comparison.

To quantify just how good the strike was, some of the statistics break down just how tough it was for Courtois to stop it.

According to the xG philosophy, Rice’s second free-kick had an Expected Goals on Target [xGOT] of 0.97.

The statistic works slightly differently from traditional expected goals, looking at where the ball ends up once on target, rather than where the shot is taken from.

It means, on average, shots placed where the Rice free-kick went in are only saved three percent of the time.

It shows just how unstoppable it was, summing up the special night that the midfielder had in front of goal.

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What Thibaut Courtois said about Declan Rice’s free-kick goals

While Rice is taking plenty of the credit for his excellent free-kick strikes, there is the other side of the situation too.

For Real Madrid and Courtois, it could prove to be a learning point as the goalkeeper explained what went wrong.

Speaking to Movistar after the match, he said: “I thought I’d positioned the wall well, I usually put an extra man in.

“I take responsibility for that. I could have put an extra man in, but I thought [Rice] wouldn’t get as much curl on it.

“And the second goal is a great goal. They were unnecessary fouls when there was no danger. Perhaps we shouldn’t make those fouls.”

It’s a moment that will long live in the memory for Arsenal, but perhaps it will haunt the famous European stalwarts in Real Madrid.