The official Champions League quarter final first leg team of the week and has been announced and it features three Arsenal players in the XI. Neither Bukayo Saka nor Thomas Partey found a replace but double free-kick hero Declan Rice was in the TOTW, as were defenders William Saliba and Jurrien Timber.
UCL official Quarter Final First Leg TOTW April 2025
Goalkeeper– Sommer (Inter)
Defenders– Nuno Mendes (PSG), Bastoni (Inter), Saliba and Timber (both Arsenal)
Here is a look at the newspaper headlines and front pages of some of Spain’s biggest sports newspapers following Real Madrid’s 3-0 loss to Arsenal in the first leg of their CL tie.
Real surprisingly lost 3-0 to Arsenal, with Declan Rice scoring two fantastic free kicks (the first time in his senior career that he’s scored a free kick goal!)
Marca newspaper front page and headline 9 April 2025
Marca went with the “Humillados” (Humiliated) headline, but also added a note underneath that “For Madrid, nothing is impossible“, indicating that one can never count Los Blancos out of the tie ahead of the return leg at the Bernabeu despite trailing 3-0 from the first leg.
Real have had an uncanny knack of coming up trumps even when the odds are against them in Europe, and the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea know all too well about it.
Here are the player ratings for Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid from L’Equipe, Marca and other European sports newspapers following AFC’s stunning first leg Champions League triumph.
Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid (Rice*2, Merino)
L’Equipe player ratings Arsenal vs Real Madrid 3-0
Declan Rice scored two stunning free kicks for Arsenal, and L’Equipe, who are notoriously tough/stingy with their ratings, have given him a 9/10.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibault Courtois and medio Jude Bellingham were the best Real Madrid players against Arsenal with a 5/10 rating. Vini and Rodrygo got a 2/10 player rating while Mbappe was given a 3/10 rating by L’Equipe.
L’Equipe also gave Carlo Ancelotti a 3/10 manager rating, while his opposite number Mikel Arteta got a 7.
Marca player ratings Arsenal 3 Real Madrid 0 UCL
No Real Madrid player managed more than 1 star in Spanish newspaper Marca’s eyes while Rice and Lewis-Skelly both got 3 stars on the Arsenal side, as did Gunners gaffer Mikel Arteta.