On Tuesday, April 8, the first matches of the Champions League quarterfinals took place.

Arsenal from London triumphed at home against Real Madrid. Declan Rice, the English midfielder, scored two goals. First, in the 58th minute, he executed a perfect free kick that curled into the corner of Thibaut Courtois' goal, and ten minutes later, he scored again in a similar fashion. Mikel Merino also added to the score.

Notably, Rice became the first player in Champions League knockout history to score two goals from free kicks.

Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko watched the match from the bench. Meanwhile, Real's goalkeeper Andriy Lunin missed the game due to an injury sustained during the Copa del Rey match against Real Sociedad.

In another match of the day, Bayern Munich lost to Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena. Lautaro Martinez scored first in the first half, but Thomas Müller equalized for the Germans in the 85th minute. However, just a minute later, the Milan side launched a swift counterattack finished by Davide Frattesi.

Champions League 2024/25
Quarterfinals, first matches, April 8

Arsenal (London) – Real (Madrid) 3:0 (0:0)

Goals: 1:0 – 58 Rice, 2:0 – 70 Rice, 3:0 – 75 Merino

Red card: Camavinga 90+4 (second yellow)

Bayern (Munich) – Inter (Milan) 1:2 (0:1)

Goals: 0:1 – 38 Martinez, 1:1 – 85 Müller, 1:2 – 88 Frattesi

The return matches will occur in a week – on April 16.

On Wednesday, April 9, two more quarterfinal matches will be played – PSG will host Aston Villa, and Barcelona will face Borussia Dortmund.