First free-kick 2 goals Rice by next week, a real hero...Explosion of reaction to set piece wizard
Apr 09, 2025
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Arsenal defeated Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 European Champions League (UCL) at the Emirates Stadium in London, England on the 9th (Korea time). The semifinals are on the verge of reaching the semifinals. Arsenal will advance to the semifinals even if they lose by only two goals in the second round on the 17th.
Joy and sorrow were mixed at the set piece. The main character was Declan Rice. Rice scored back-to-back goals with free kicks in the 13th and 25th minutes of the second half. According to soccer statistics 'Opta', Rice is the first player to score two goals with a direct free kick at the UCL knockout stage. Arsenal sealed Miles Lewis-Skelly's pass in the 30th minute of the second half with Mikel Merino's left-footed non-stop shot.
'Defending champion'Real Madrid lost face on the road after Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham failed to score a single goal. To make matters worse, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for two warnings just before the end of the game, making him unable to play in the second game.
There is another lead actor who is making as much talk as Rice. He is coach Nicholas Jover, who is in charge of guiding Arsenal's set piece. England's `The Sun' reported that `Rice scored two spectacular free-kicks against Real Madrid on the day, but some Arsenal fans believe that Jober is a true hero.'
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SNS is also hot. Fans are praising him, saying, "'Jobber is a coach who does magic,' 'He's my hero for life,' and 'Please build a statue of Jobber in the Emirates by next week.'"
But the reality was different again. Rice said "Coach Jover told me to cross. But Bukayo Saka said 'If you feel it, kick it." Looking at the ball and the goalkeeper, I thought 'I can wrap it outwardly' It was a magical moment," he smiled. Rice scoffed after watching a video of coach Joever happy after the goal, but it was a 'happy ending'.
However, it is true that Arsenal's set-piece does not allow anyone to follow after coach Jober built his nest. He is a German-born French national and a set piece expert born in 1981. Coach Mikel Arteta is a specialist who came from Manchester City as Arsenal's head coach.
The effect of recruiting Jober was immediate. Arsenal, who scored the third fewest set-piece points in the English Premier League in the 2020-2021 season, transformed into the team with the most goals in dead ball situations next season.
This season, he continues to score the most set-piece goals in the EPL.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
