Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has admitted he received a flood of congratulatory messages after scoring two free-kicks in a 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Real Madrid on Tuesday, but he wishes David Beckham had been one of them.
Rice had never scored a goal from a free kick before at the Emirates Stadium yesterday, a crucial match against a 15-time European champion.
The 26-year-old midfielder is สมัครสมาชิก UFABET วันนี้ รับเครดิตฟรีทุกวัน certainly grateful for all the support, but he would be even more relieved if Beckham texted him. It’s a shame they don’t have each other’s numbers.
“I never thought I would score a free kick. When I checked my phone, there were so many congratulatory messages. It was crazy,” he told Amazon Prime Sports.
“Scoring the first free kick was already special, but scoring the second one made me even more confident – I can’t put it into words.”
“Beating Real Madrid in the Champions League was a big night for us,”
“The head coach tried to remind us that even though we were 3-0 up in the first leg, our opponents’ unique abilities are frightening.”
“Even more so when playing at the Santiago Bernabeu, special things can happen, but we also want to reach the Champions League semi-finals.”
Rice, as an English boy, knew that Beckham was a role model that everyone wanted to be able to take free kicks like him, so he wanted to exchange numbers with the legendary right winger of the ‘Three Lions’ to admire this kid.
“Unfortunately I don’t have his phone number – but I was so happy to see him score a free-kick,” Declan added.
“When I scored a free kick, our set-piece coach teased me and asked for credit – because of whom? – even though he had told me to cross the ball.”
Arsenal are now unbeaten in the Champions League for seven games, their longest run since the 2004-05 season.