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Eberechi Eze scored a stunning goal to lead Crystal Palace to the final of the 2025 FA Cup following a 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
It was a complete performance from Crystal Palace to brush aside Aston Villa at Wembley to book their first FA Cup final since 2016.
Eze capped off his man-of-the-match performance with a cracking goal in the 31st minute to Crystal Palace on their way to an historic victory.
Ibrahima Sarr added two late goals to make it 3-0 for Crystal Palace as Aston Villa struggled to find their bearing.
They will take on the winner between Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest at Wembley in the final on May 17.
Oliver Glasner was full of praise for his players for qualifying for the final.
He said: “All the credit to the players. They had to work so hard. They had to overcome a few difficult moments,” Glasner said.
“We got more control and it was an unbelievable performance. The players stuck to the plan and we never lost our heads.
“I don’t know at the moment how I feel — a bit exhausted. The players have four days off now. They should enjoy the moment.”
Crystal Palace denied Aston Villa a place in the final for the first time since 2015.
Unai Emery admitted Aston Villa failed to impress in the encounter.
He said: “When they scored the first goal it was more difficult for us and we only reacted after 2-0 and then we created more chances to score and we didn’t do. In transition they are very good, and they deserve to win,”
“Sorry to our supporters because they were motivated. We have to accept it. We have to be quick to react because in the league we have the most important objective.”
Crystal Palace have reached their third FA Cup final in their history, previously doing so in 1989-90 and 2015-16.
Aston Villa have lost seven of their last nine games at Wembley Stadium in all competitions (W2), while overall Villa have lost three of their last six games in all competitions (W3), as many as in their prior 21 matches (W13 D5).
