Crystal Palace took one step closer to winning the FA Cup for the first time as they beat Aston Villa 3-0.
Eberechi Eze lit up Wembley with a scorching opening goal on 31 minutes, bending home a beautiful strike from 22 yards following a turnover and pass from Ismalia Sarr.
Villa always looked vulnerable to the direct and incisive Palace attacks, and Jean-Philippe Mateta really should have made it 2-0 on 53 minutes but blazed his penalty wide after Eze had been tripped.
Villa piled on some pressure after the break but the fautless Dean Henderson was called into action to make a big save to deny John McGinn’s sharp volley, then Lucas Digne fired through a crowd, narrowly wide of Henderson’s right post.
The raucous Palace end did not have to wait long to get the two-goal cushion though as Sarr thumped home a zinger of a strike from range seven minutes later, before wrapping up the game in injury time on the counter attack.
Sarr has proved a real thorn in Villa’s side this season, racking up seven goal involvements in three appearances.
For Villa, who huffed and puffed without much conviction in the final third, it means their wait to lift the FA Cup goes on – it has been 68 years since they last did so.
It caps off a crushing few days for Unai Emery’s side. A tough defeat to fellow Champions League battlers Man City and now this thumping loss. They are in danger of running out of steam this season – and there are still four games to go in the top-flight as they try to finish in the top five to secure Champions League football.
Palace will play either Nottingham Forest or Manchester City in the final at Wembley on May 17.
Eberechi Eze is mobbed by his team-mates after giving Crystal Palace the lead against Aston Villa at Wembley
Emery ‘sorry’ for supporters
Aston Villa duo Pau Torres (right) and Jacob Ramsey react to the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery said:
“Our priority is the Premier League. Premier League is the most important.
“I told you everyday, we enjoy Champions League and try to get something in the FA Cup, but be consistent through the Premier League.
“The objective is next week against Fulham. I am sorry to the supporters but I dominate my frustration.”
Glasner: I’m not thinking about final – players can party
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner said:
“I don’t want to talk about the final today.
“Every game to win it, we have the approach to win it. The players can party tonight, they have a few days off. We will meet on Thursday and then we will prepare.
“The best approach is to show good performances [in the build-up].
“It’s a good moment for us.”
On the performance as a whole, Glasner heaped all of the praise on his players instead of taking credit for the tactics implemented in the fixture.
Palace allowed Villa to have 70 per cent of possession at Wembley, with 16 shots in total following from the play, but their opponents recorded an expected goals value of just 0.99 in the game. A credit to the defensive discipline shown by the Eagles.
Glasner continued: “Easy to talk about but difficult to execute. All the credit to the players.
“Great to see today, even after the penalty. We had situations to overcome but didn’t lose our head.
“Today, we stayed calm and always sticked to the plan. We got the reward. An amazing performance.”
