Kolkata, April 10 -- In 402 matches for club and country, Declan Rice had never scored from a direct free-kick. Yet, there he was, alone. This was between Rice, the Real Madrid 'wall' and Thibaut Courtois in goal 30 yards away. Rice's shot arced past Federico Valverde into the inky night before curling into goal.
"As soon as it left my foot, I knew it had a chance," he said. Didn't think he could bend it like this, said Courtois.
Champions League has seen some stirring second-leg comebacks. Barcelona did it against Paris St-Germain and were done in by Liverpool. Real have never beaten Arsenal but "in football everything can happen," said Carlo Ancelotti after Tuesday's 0-3 defeat in London. Few know that better than the defending champion...