Arsenal's Declan Rice pulled rank on his captain and the club's set piece coach and it proved an inspired decision as he struck two sublime free kicks to help secure a 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday.
When Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka was fouled in a central position 30 meters from goal just before the hour mark at the Emirates Stadium with the score 0-0, Rice consulted with skipper Martin Odegaard who told him to chip in a cross.
That was also the message coming from coach Nicolas Jover on the touchline and, considering Rice had never scored a direct free kick in well over 300 senior career games, it seemed like good advice in a game of such high stakes.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.