Arsenal’s Declan Rice pulled rank on his captain and the club’s set piece coach and it proved an inspired decision as he struck two sublime free kicks to help secure a 3-0 win over Real Madrid. A late Fratessi goal gave Inter Milan a 2-1 win in Munich against Bayern in the other Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.

When Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka was fouled in a central position 30 metres from goal just before the hour mark at The Emirates Stadium with the score 0-0, Rice consulted with skipper Martin Odegaard who told him to chip in a cross.

That was also the message coming from coach Nicolas Jover on the touchline and, considering Rice had never scored a direct free kick in well over 300 senior career games, it seemed like good advice in a game of such high stakes.

But the 26-year-old Rice had other ideas and dispatched a right-footed shot that curled around the wall and back inside the post to beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois — an effort that would have done watching Brazilian great Roberto Carlos proud.

Twelve minutes later, from a similar position, Rice was at it again, dipping another unstoppable effort into the top corner to become the first player to score two direct free kicks in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

“I’m a bit speechless to honest with you. I’m so happy that I’ve scored those two goals for the club and to beat Real Madrid, such a historic club in this competition, it’s such a big night for us,” Rice said in a pitch-side interview.

Asked what was being said in the huddle before his first goal, Rice said the original plan was to cross the ball into the danger area as he is so adept at doing.

“We lined up with three at the back (post) for a reverse cross but Bukayo said if you feel it, and I thought ‘you know what I’m going to take this’, and when it went in it was the best feeling in the world.

“It didn’t make sense from that angle to cross the ball, it would have had to have been such a delicate pass so I just thought go for it.

“(Jover’s) claiming it but he’s told me to cross it! You have to make the most of these moments in games. I’m happy I took it because it was a magic moment.

“Then after the first one I just had the confidence (for the second one) and had nothing to lose.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also looked stunned when Rice’s first sizzler struck the net.

“That’s the beauty of whoever invented this sport. We hadn’t scored a (direct) free kick since September 2021. And tonight, against Real Madrid at home in the Champions League, we scored two in 13 minutes,” the Spaniard said.

“If there’s a player who can do it, how clean he strikes it, it’s Declan.”

The third goal by Mikel Merino means Arsenal have one foot in the semi-finals for the first time since 2009 but Rice says nothing is decided yet against the record 15-times winners.

“Even though we’re 3-0 up, the individual quality that they have and what they can produce is scary. And also it’s the Bernabeu and in the Champions League, special things happen there for them. We’re ready to go there and give it everything.”

 Inter Milan scored an 88th minute winner through Davide Frattesi to snatch a 2-1 victory over shocked hosts Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.

Frattesi tapped in from close range to stun the Bavarians, who had levelled three minutes earlier through substitute Thomas Mueller, a player leaving the club at the end of the season after 25 years as Bayern did not offer him a new contract.

Inter captain Lautaro Martinez had put the visitors in the driving seat after 38 minutes, drilling the ball into the net from a superb Marcus Thuram backheel after Bayern had earlier hit the post through Harry Kane.

The treble-chasing Italians, who have conceded three goals in their 11 Champions League matches so far this season, host Bayern in the return leg on April 16.

“Scoring in the 88th minute like that shows how much we wanted to keep playing our football and using the principles we’ve been relying on for almost four years now,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.

The winners of the quarter-final will face either Borussia Dortmund or Barcelona, who play their first leg on Wednesday.

The Germans, who were missing several key players to injury including goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala along with a trio of defenders, had two chances through Michael Olise and Kane in the opening 15 minutes.

They came even closer in the 26th after Olise outplayed almost the entire Inter defence to lay the ball off for Kane whose curled shot hit the post.

The Italians gradually grew bolder with Carlos Augusto firing into the side netting and Martinez charging into the box but slipping just before shooting.

The Inter captain, however, made no mistake when Thuram found him with a backheel flick from a Carlos Augusto cut-back and the Argentine completed the swift move with a deft finish.

He came close to adding another in 55th but Bayern keeper Jonas Urbig stopped his powerful drive from a tight angle.

Bayern, who lead the Bundesliga title race and face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday pinned Inter in their own half but neither Konrad Laimer, Raphael Guerreiro nor Kane with a low drive in the 80th could find an equaliser until crowd favourite Mueller was in the right place to score with five minutes left.

Their joy, however, only lasted three minutes with Frattesi tapping in the winner in a heartbreaking finale for the Bayern fans in the Allianz Arena, site of this year’s final.

“It’s halftime, it’s 2-1 for Inter and we need to go to Milan to win,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. “We have lost and we had our chances in both halves but the results are not always fair.”

“If you see how many chances we had against a defensive-minded Inter. Normally if we get these chances we score two or three goals,” added Kompany. “We still fully believe in our chances in Milan.”