London: Declan Rice put Arsenal on the brink of reaching the Champions League semifinals by curling home two free kicks that Real Madrid’s most famous “galacticos” would have been proud of.

Rice opened the scoring by bending one free kick around the Madrid wall in the 58th minute and sent another into the top corner in the 70th as Arsenal won the first leg of the quarterfinals 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

With Madrid great Roberto Carlos looking on in the stands, Rice put on a display of power and bend reminiscent of the many free kicks scored by the Brazilian defender in his day — or by his teammates David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Figo for that matter.

Unlike those names, Rice has not been known for his free kick prowess — until now. In fact, he had never scored from a direct free kick before in his career.

“It’s been in the locker, but I’ve hit the wall too many times or it’s gone over the bar," Rice told broadcaster Amazon Prime. “Originally we were going to cross it and then I’ve just seen the wall and the goalkeeper’s position. So I thought just go for it.”

Mikel Merino added the third in the 75th to put Arsenal on the brink of returning to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

In the other quarterfinal match Tuesday, Inter Milan won 2-1 at Bayern Munich.

Making matters worse for Madrid, key midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for a second booking in the final minutes and will miss the return leg at Santiago Bernabeu stadium on April 16.

Rice and Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka were both substituted after picking up knocks, but Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said neither looked like a serious injury.

Only a handful of saves from Courtois prevented the scoreline from getting even bigger.

“The second half was amazing, we played with full gas from the side," Merino said. "When this side plays like that the crowd go with us.”

While Madrid can never be written off at home, even coach Carlo Ancelotti didn't sound too hopeful of a comeback.

“If you look at the game tonight, there is no possibility,” Ancelotti said. “But in football everything can happen. We have to believe.”

Kylian Mbappé had Madrid's best scoring chance in the 31st when he was played through on goal by Jude Bellingham but the forward was denied by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

It was the teams' first meeting since 2006, when Arsenal eliminated Madrid in the round of 16. That was also the last time Arsenal came close to winning the competition for the first time, losing the final to Barcelona.

Judging by this display, Arsenal could well be a contender again this year.

In one of the biggest European nights the Emirates has seen — the stadium opened for the 2006-07 season — Arsenal delivered one of its best performances of the season against a team that has won the Champions League six times since 2014.

And for once in this competition, Madrid simply didn't have an answer.

The 15-time European champions seemed content to sit back and wait for counterattacks in the first half but was pegged back for most of the second.

Kane misses, Frattesi scores as Inter beats Bayern 2-1

Inter Milan’s treble chances are still very much on after it won 2-1 at Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday to inflict the German team's first home defeat in the competition in almost exactly four years.

Lautaro Martínez scored in the first half, shortly after Harry Kane had hit the woodwork for Bayern in an uncharacteristic miss that had the England forward clutching his face in disbelief.

Substitute Thomas Müller, who announced on Saturday that he was leaving the German club at the end of the season, appeared to have rescued a 1-1 draw for Bayern with the equalizer five minutes from time but Davide Frattesi scored the winner three minutes later.

“Tonight wasn’t a walk in the park and we weren’t expecting one," Müller told broadcaster Prime Video. "We had a fair few chances, but unfortunately the last counter makes it 2-1.

"(Or) else it’s 1-1, a good fightback and the Müller story would have played out. I’ll have to complain to Inter.”

The result ended Bayern’s 22-match unbeaten home run in Europe — a streak stretching back to April 7, 2021, against Paris Saint-Germain — and kept up Inter's hopes of returning to the same stadium for the Champions League final on May 31.