Top 5 Players Who Scored 2 Free-Kicks in One UCL Game
- Think Football Ideas
- Apr 17
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Dead-Ball Dealers: The Rare Club of Free-Kick Braces in the Champions League
Scoring a free-kick in the Champions League? Difficult. Scoring two in one match? That’s football sorcery. Only a handful of names have managed it, and one just joined the club in seriously dramatic fashion on the 8th of April 2025. Let’s count them down, from the newest entrant to the OG set-piece sorcerer.
Below Are the Players Who Scored 2 Free-Kicks in One UCL Game
1. Declan Rice – Arsenal vs Real Madrid (2025)
No, that’s not a typo. England midfielder Declan Rice, the man known more for tackles than tekkers, cooked the Champions League with a free-kick double against 15-time champions Real Madrid.
Before this game, Rice had zero free-kick goals in 338 professional appearances. Then boom—two in 12 minutes. First one curled around the Los Blancos wall, and the second cheekily whipped to the goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' side before bulging the net.
Arsenal won 3–0. Carlo Ancelotti's Real were rattled. The Emirates? Absolutely levitating.
Historic twist? Yes, as Rice became the first player ever to score two direct free-kicks in a knockout round game. Legendary stuff.
2. Hakim Ziyech – Galatasaray vs Manchester United (2023)
When Hakim Ziyech gets it right, the ball sings. And against Manchester United, he was basically Adele with a football. First came a low strike that ghosted through a collapsing United wall.
Then another whipped into the danger zone, bouncing off Andre Onana’s leg and into the net like a drunken pinball. Two free-kicks. One night. And it was a reminder that Ziyech’s left foot was still pure chaos wrapped in silk.
3. Neymar – PSG vs Red Star Belgrade (2018)
At his dazzling best, Neymar turns games into performances. Against Red Star, it was a full-on headline act. He opened the scoring with a cheeky bend over the wall into the bottom corner.
Then followed it up with a delicious curler into the top bin. PSG won 6–1. Neymar took home the match ball and a standing ovation. Say what you will about Neymar, but when he’s in the mood, he’s pure football theatre.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid vs FC Zurich (2009)
Cristiano has done it all. But on his Champions League debut for Real Madrid? He decided to make two free-kicks his opening statement. One was a knuckleball special, dipping and swerving like it had GPS tracking.
The other? A rocket that slipped through the keeper’s hands like soap in a shower. That night, Zurich got baptised in the Church of CR7. Final score? 5–2. Message sent.
5. Rivaldo – Barcelona vs AC Milan (2000)
The original sorcerer. Before free-kicks became YouTube compilations, Rivaldo was bending physics. In a 3–3 thriller at San Siro, he buried one under the jumping wall — genius.
Then went high, smashing it off the underside of the bar (and maybe the keeper’s back) for his second. It’s debatable whether the second would count today… but the Opta gods said yes, and we’re not arguing.
A Free-Kick Brace in the UCL: Football’s Unicorn
In an age of expected goals, heat maps, and precision pressing, there’s still something gloriously rogue about a direct free-kick. It’s a little bit art, a little bit rebellion.
And these five? They didn’t just score them — they owned them. Because sometimes, the most dangerous weapon on the pitch… is a dead ball with a dreamer behind it.
Comments