Spanish media stunned by Arsenal masterclass in Madrid rout

If Arsenal fans were wondering how their club’s stunning 3–0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final was received in Spain, the reaction from the country’s three biggest sports dailies delivered a remarkably unified message: devastation for Madrid, dominance from Arsenal, and Declan Rice as the destroyer-in-chief.

The tone and intensity may have varied — from Sport’s gloating Catalan glee, to AS’s blend of tactical post-mortem and spiritual pleading, and Marca’s reluctant concession of superiority — but the headline was the same.

Arsenal outclassed Real Madrid. Brutally, emphatically, and in front of the entire continent.

Sport front page - TOCADÍSIMOS
(Translation: Utterly rocked / Completely shaken)

Subheadline:
Real Madrid were humiliated at the Emirates and only a miracle can prevent their Champions League elimination.
Ancelotti’s team, powerless against an Arsenal that swept them aside with two free-kick goals from Rice and one from Merino. — Sport front page 9 April 2025 TOCADÍSIMOS (Translation: Utterly rocked / Completely shaken) Subheadline: Real Madrid were humiliated at the Emirat…

The Catalan daily Sport, never reluctant to twist the knife where Real Madrid are concerned, did not bother with euphemisms. The headline — El Arsenal ridiculiza al Real Madrid — needed no interpretation.

In a match report penned by Fermín de la Calle, the tone is triumphant, the judgement immediate. “Two majestic thunderbolts from Declan Rice… and a left-footed shot from Mikel Merino buried a mediocre Real Madrid in London.”

Arsenal ridicule Real Madrid Two stunning free-kicks from Rice and a third goal from Merino destroyed Ancelotti's side in a dreadful match for Vinicius and Rodrygo Sport, 9 Apr 2025 – Fermín de la Calle Rice scored Arsenal’s first two goals from set pieces with two impeccable strikes. Two majestic thunderbolts from Declan Rice (who had not scored a free-kick goal in the 339 matches he had played as a professional) and a left-footed strike from Mikel Merino buried a mediocre Real Madrid in London. On the night the players decided to contribute collective commitment, sacrifice and attitude, they failed in the one thing they rarely ever do — the talent to make the difference up front. When you play with fire… The glass jaw of Los Blancos, dressed in a grey that foreshadowed what was to come, turned what had been a comfortable match until the hour mark into a hecatomb that will be hard to overturn at the Santiago Bernabéu. And probably the epilogue of Carlo Ancelotti’s time as Madrid manager. ANCELOTTI, ON THE SCAFFOLD There are few situations more thankless than Ancelotti’s — hampered by injuries, his players’ indolence and exhaustion, and questioned by the stands and the boardroom. That’s how he showed up in London, placing his hopes in a lineup with Alaba, whose last game as a full-back in England ended with him called out by Klopp ("If Nacho hadn’t come on for Alaba, we would have won"). And a double pivot of Modric and Camavinga, a starting pair in just three of this season’s 51 games: the loss at Liverpool, the draw in Pamplona, and the drab win over Leganés. And still, it was probably the most balanced lineup he could field. Madrid defended with a sulky Valverde (for being used as a full-back), an exhausted Asensio, a hobbling Rüdiger, and a rusty Alaba, on whose flank Arsenal concentrated all their play. Arteta’s side attacked with midfield runners, without positional forwards, forcing Modric and Camavinga to push forward. After 14 minutes, Bosnian referee Peljto and VAR ignored a handball by Asensio — the kind that gets called as a penalty in La Liga. But Europe is Europe. Play on, play on… Real Madrid appeared more solid as the minutes passed and threatened with two counters from Vini — who had a dreadful game — and Mbappé. At the half-hour mark, Bellingham put Kylian through against Raya. The Frenchman came to crown these kinds of matches and score these goals, but he shot straight at the keeper. The first half ended with a double save from Courtois and the sense that Madrid lacked the killer blow. THREE GOALS IN 17 MINUTES Another first-time pass from Jude at the start of the second half set up Mbappé in the six-yard box, but he was at a tight angle. In the face of Vinicius’ dramatic collapse, Bellingham remained the Frenchman’s lifeline. Ancelotti’s side seemed to have cooled the London cauldron, until the 57th minute — when the match seemed most serene — a foul outside the area was called. Declan Rice drilled a curling effort toward Courtois’ post, who watched it go in because there seemed to be a man missing from the wall and Valverde turned inward. THE GUNNERS SCORED THREE TIMES IN 17 MINUTES AFTER MBAPPÉ MISSED A ONE-ON-ONE WITH RAYA COURTOIS PREVENTED SEVERAL CLEAR GOALS, WHILE ALABA AND BELLINGHAM CLEARED TWO SHOTS OFF THE LINE Real Madrid were losing because their fundamentals — the goalkeeper and the No. 9 — didn’t show the usual excellence that normally decides matches. Arsenal grew in confidence, driven by their animated fans, and turned the end-to-end flow into a siege. Arteta’s men were swatting at a mediocre Madrid when another foul on the edge of the area was called and the sequence repeated itself. Rice unleashed another curled missile — Rodrygo ducked, and Courtois again watched it sail in. Two set pieces (credit Nicolas Jover’s playbook), two goals. Ancelotti’s men were still licking their wounds when Merino arrived into space to slot home the third. A crushing defeat for a Madrid side without soul or aggression — the very things Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have in abundance. — Sport, 9 April 2025

The paper openly questioned the effort, discipline and tactical setup of Madrid’s side. “The glass jaw of Los Blancos, dressed in a grey that foreshadowed what was to come, turned a comfortable clash into a total disaster.”

Key players were dismissed with biting contempt: “Vinicius had a dreadful game… Rodrygo hid.” There was praise for Arsenal’s intensity, especially after Rice’s first free-kick goal — the first of his career — cracked the match open: “Arsenal, spurred on by their spirited fans, turned the end-to-end game into a siege.”

The report concluded with a final body blow: “Madrid were without soul or aggression — all of which Arsenal under Mikel Arteta had in abundance.”

THERE ARE NO IMPOSSIBILITIES FOR MADRID HARSH BLOW FROM ARSENAL TO A DISASTROUS MADRID, ALTHOUGH THE SECOND LEG AND THE BERNABÉU MYSTIQUE REMAIN Marca Catalunya – April 9, 2025 Two stunning goals from Rice and another from Mikel Merino bring down the champions • Los Blancos now total 11 defeats this season, five of them in the Champions League • Ancelotti: “We collapsed mentally after the 1-0” — THERE ARE NO IMPOSSIBILITIES FOR MADRID HARSH BLOW FROM ARSENAL TO A DISASTROUS MADRID, ALTHOUGH THE SECOND LEG AND THE BERNABÉU MYSTIQUE REMAIN …

Marca, based in Madrid and traditionally sympathetic to the club, tried to soften the blow with its front page assertion: “THERE ARE NO IMPOSSIBILITIES FOR MADRID”, but the content within told a more brutal story.

“Rice cannon sinks Madrid”, read the match report headline. According to José María Rodríguez, what unfolded at the Emirates was not simply a loss, but a collapse. “From that moment on, Madrid disappeared — without a response on the pitch or from the bench.”

The Rice cannon sinks the Madrid THE EUROPEAN CHAMPION COLLAPSES FROM THE FIRST GOAL, WITHOUT FOOTBALL OR SOUL The Englishman, who never scored from a foul, converts two monumental goals and Merino closes the dance * Neither the Brazilians nor Mbappé give solution • The pass, impossible... or almost Marca Catalunya9 Apr 2025 THE PERFECT SHOT Declan Rice looks for the effect outside the barrier to adjust the 1-0 shot next to the stick. From that moment, Madrid did not appear. Real Madrid fell with a bang in London, making it almost impossible to qualify for the semifinals. The sinking was resounding from the extraordinary cannon shot of Declan Rice that opened the definitive waterway. The English midfielder, who had never scored a free kick as a professional, repeated shortly after, with Madrid invisible, unanswered on the pitch or on the bench, aggravating all the symptoms he has been showing for weeks. No spark, no soul, no football. And with Ancelotti imprisoned by those who have given him so much and who yesterday, overwhelmingly, resigned in adversity. It was a tragic night, unbecoming of the European champion. It's hard to believe in a miracle, but..... (read with an Italian accent). The white team will still have to thank the first half of truce. Madrid arouses a reverential respect in Europe. It's not good, it shows in his sequences of passes, runs over, full of rejections, but he still had the first act under control. Arsenal, who started with doubts in the rearguard (Kiwior had already slipped before the minute), was slow to find the formula because Madrid behaved in the first half as a solid and supportive block. With Valverde and Alaba on the sidelines, Rodrygo and Bellingham acted co the interiors. There were scares, yes. A poisonous corner from Saka that Saliba took almost unintentionally on the line, obviously. One from Vinicius, who looked for the thread, and another from VAR, who spent a while analyzing a natural hand of Asencio after Martinelli's shot. Keep going. The one who had the best option was Madrid after a robbery in Bellingham gang. The pass into space left Mbappé in front of Raya, but he finished off the cross. A crack can't waste those occasions. The first half was slipping away when Arsenal showed their credentials. He boxed the opponent around the area and circled until he exploited Saka. He went down the sideline, centered closed and hard, scored Courtois and the ball went through the small area without finding a finisher. Then Odegaard found him in the hole, with the same solution. Tense center, no finisher. And they finished with a cross from the middle line that Rice headed, Courtois groped, Martinelli volleyed and Thibaut repeated, key to reaching the break in a draw. The pause restored the initial values of the duel. Low pace and zero risk. Or almost. Much more tension than football. He threatened to hit Madrid, after a good save from Bellingham that Mbappé finished off at the side of the net. That's how we were, without anything relevant happening, until it happened. Alaba chased Saka down the middle until he knocked him down. Frank shot at a distance ideal for a left-hander, reduced barrier of four, but Rice, a right-hander, took it, looking for the thread on the outside. Perfect. To the cage. He painted ugly. The top guys only showed up to lose the ball. So the Gunners opened fire at will. Between Courtois and Alaba they reduced a clear triple chance, and in the following corner Bellingham saved under sticks. Far from reacting, Madrid cringed and conceded another foul on the front, this time for a right-hander. Rice took it, of course. And the execution was perfect. Hard, to the goalkeeper's stick, with a curve on the outside, to the squad. A wonder. ANCELOTTI DOES NOT HELP THE REACTION, WITH FEW CHANGES The collapse of the champion was spectacular. You could see it in the faces. Nor did Ancelotti help with his conservative and scarce changes. He put Lucas in for Modric to bring up Valverde in the middle, and before he got into action he received the third. He controlled Lewis-Skelly in front, amazing in his mobility all over the field, he put the pass into the area and Mikel Merino, with the left-handed and first, placed next to the stick. He timidly tried to leave Madrid. Fran García and Brahim entered, this one with five minutes left. What generosity. Vinicius received the occasional ball in search of the imbalance. He lost them all. Like Rodrygo. The stand chanted with olés the last circulations of the Arsenal, very superior. So much so that it is difficult to imagine a comeback in just one week, after the worst night in five years. It's impossible. Or almost. The Bernabeu remains. — Marca 9 April 2025 – The Rice cannon sinks the Madrid

Rodríguez noted the ineffectiveness of Madrid’s stars: “Neither the Brazilians nor Mbappé offered any solution,” and described Ancelotti as paralysed.

“Ancelotti did not help the reaction, with conservative and scarce changes.”

Marca’s final summation was severe: “Madrid collapsed spectacularly. You could see it in their faces.” The only remaining thread of hope was, predictably, the venue: “It’s difficult to believe in a miracle… but the Bernabéu remains.”

AS took a more reflective tone, cloaking its dissection in grand Champions League mythology.

“Once more on the edge of the impossible” was both a lament and a warning, appealing to the idea of the Bernabéu as football’s last haunted sanctuary.

Writer Luis Nieto described the performance with surgical clarity, offering no reprieve for Madrid’s most vaunted stars: “Vinicius has suddenly become melancholic… Mbappé misses too many goals. Rodrygo continues to be inconsistent. Bellingham can’t do it all.”

Once again bishop of the impossible Madrid holds on in the first half and sinks with two goals from Rice's frank strike in the second Merino finishes the task ● Courtois, the best of the whites, who are entrusted with another miracle of the Bernabeu to come back AS9 Apr 2025 The situation demands another 'poltergeist' at the Bernabéu, that black hole that has swallowed up the biggest ones so many times, because Madrid wanted to be the one of the Champions League and it didn't work out: acceptable in the role of survivor in the first half, but very reduced in its attack, where the club has put all the resources, it was a sieve in the second. Two direct blows, two cannonades, from Rice unleashed the storm, which did not cease until the end. There were no remains of the wreck. Suddenly, Vinicius has become melancholic, a facet hitherto unknown. At Madrid he has been many things less than a regular footballer. Mbappé is missing too many goals. Rodrygo is still discontinued. Bellingham can't handle everything. Camavinga does not make responsible use of the post. The defense is precarious and the playoff, on the edge of the impossible. The only hope is that that, the impossible one, is their territory. To begin with, Ancelotti was forced to strip off one saint to dress another: Valverde played right-back. As the cloning of the Uruguayan would not pass the cut of the Penal Code or the FIFA regulations, the coach opted for the lesser evil, securing the right and arming the midfield with Modric, who handles the genre well: you don't win six Champions without knowing the terrain. Something similar happened to the Italian on the other side, with Alaba at left-back. He has played 44% of the matches of his career there, but only 16 in his four years at Madrid. The penultimate, in the first clash of the last Champions League, against Union Berlin, a year and a half ago. The last one, last Saturday, for 13'. It was a risky decision: a player who is coming off a serious injury and in a position where he has lost automatisms in front of probably the best right winger in the world, Saka tortured him. The use of Valverde and Alaba, who ended up being suburban full-backs, was not only intended to seal the bands, but to reinforce the anti-aircraft battery against a rival that moves superbly in the heights. That was the only thing that worked. The match had the planned start, if perhaps with less caution than the established one: a dominant Arsenal, as the occasion and the Emirates demanded, and a protected Madrid, with that sense of responsibility that only develops fully on the great nights of Champions League and that has to do with both attitude and strategy. The plan called for a greater defensive sacrifice of Rodrygo and Bellingham and a greater participation in the game of Mbappé and Vinicius. Everything would fall apart later. A very lively match thus dawned, but without great chances. Arsenal frequented the area, but shot little. Madrid had some lightning start with better at the beginning and at the end, he saved a sprint by Mbappé, who, after a great maneuver by Bellingham, crashed his frank shot against David Raya. The truth is that the situation in the first half did not bother Madrid, because Arsenal is not a team of high and fierce pressure. If he loses the ball, he doesn't bite, he takes cover. And that allowed Ancelotti's long possessions, always sedating in boilers like the Emirates. He only saw the danger in the face of Saka's cramps, which found no finisher. And when a crack opened up, there was Courtois, who in the same move took the goal from Rice, from the head, and Martinelli, from the left. The draw at half-time left contradictory conclusions: the result was worth it, but Arsenal's permissiveness in the white cons seemed to invite one more point of ambition on the part of Madrid. Ancelotti's team seemed fine with such a stingy plan until Declan Rice caught him in the launch of a frank blow that had everything: an excellent strike, a poor placement of the barrier that allowed the pitcher to get around it on the outside and a stretched waste of Courtois, more guilty for the ordering of human protection than for not stopping that curled torpedo. In the catalog of errors it is necessary to add the unnecessary of the lack of Praise. The goal melted Madrid and unleashed Arsenal, who thought that nothing is enough when the return leg is at the Bernabeu. He had four goals in one minute. Two were avoided by Courtois; two others by his guardian angels, Alaba and Bellingham. And on another foul almost at the same distance, Rice, the cannon of the gunners, put the ball in the squad of Courtois for the 2-0. On this occasion the Englishman was the only culprit. His shooting was unstoppable. Madrid was on the mat. And there it continued when Mikel Merino, with a left-footed cross-shot from the edge of the box and unguarded, made the third. Madrid did not get back on its feet and saw how it lost for the return to Camavinga, expelled. Now it is in the hands of the legend of the Bernabeu, bathed in adrenaline and miracles. Arsenal can only be defeated by this paranormal phenomenon. — AS April 9 2025

Rice’s free-kicks were recognised for what they were — decisive and devastating. “Declan Rice caught them out with a free-kick that had everything: excellent strike, poor wall placement… Courtois’ dive was in vain.” The second was described as “unstoppable.”

The third goal, from Mikel Merino, was a final nail: “Madrid was on the canvas… and stayed there.”

If Sport delighted in Madrid’s embarrassment and Marca conceded it with grimace, AS dressed it in black and handed the eulogy. “Only the paranormal phenomenon of the Bernabéu can stop Arsenal now.”

Across all three papers, the themes were remarkably consistent. Arsenal were fitter, faster, better coached. Declan Rice was unplayable. Carlo Ancelotti was left without answers. Real Madrid, who have so often made the impossible look routine, were this time overwhelmed.

Arsenal did not win through luck, controversy, or circumstance.

They won because they were better.

And even in Spain, they admitted it.