It was a pinch me moment for theCrystal Palacesupporters who had made it a sea of red and blue in the stand behind Emiliano Martínez’s goal. A few minutes earlier, the Aston Villa goalkeeper had been pumping his fists in delight after Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty miss appeared to have kept his side in the game.
Yet already leading through Eberechi Eze’s stunning goal in the first half, Palace were not to be denied. Ismaïla Sarr thumped the ball past Martínez from distance after another cheap Villa turnover and the Senegal forward was mobbed by his teammates as Oliver Glasner led a group hug with the substitutes on the bench.
There were still more than half an hour to play at Wembley but Unai Emery’s side – without the injured Marcus Rashford to call on – already looked well beaten, the rigours of a long campaign having finally caught up with them potentially. Not that Palace will care one bit as they can now look forward to a thirdFA Cupfinal in their history, with Sarr adding his second for good measure in injury time to round off a perfect day. Perhaps this time their story will have a happy ending.
There was a tangible sense of anticipation before kick-off as both sets of supporters made themselves heard. Contesting their third semi-final in the past nine years, a banner quoting Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love was the centrepiece behind Dean Henderson’s goal.
Villa hadn’t been past the fourth round since being thrashed 4-0 by Arsenal in the final a decade ago. A record of six defeats from their past eight visits to Wembley was a reason to be fearful for the 35,000 supporters who had made the pilgrimage from the Midlands. But having hauled themselves back into top-five contention in recent weeks and played at some of Europe’s most imposing arenas already this season during their run to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Villa settled quicker during a scrappy opening period.
The news that Rashford was missing after picking up what Villa described as “a knock” at least made Emery’s team selection straightforward. Ollie Watkins returned to lead the line as one of three changes from the last-minute defeat against Manchester City in midweek, with Marco Asensio and John McGinn also returning.
Palace looked happy to try and hit them on the break, with Boubacar Kamara picking up the game’s first booking for hauling down the marauding Mateta. He soon had Tyrick Mitchell for company when he was cautioned for impeding Asensio.
The first chance of any note fell to Morgan Rogers when Palace were almost caught napping from a throw-in midday through the first half but the England forward could only direct his shot wide. Palace were incensed when referee Anthony Taylor ruled that Mateta had fouled Ezra Konsa after pinching the ball from the Villa defender and finishing past Martínez.
Their anger didn’t last long, however, as Sarr forced Pau Torres into a mistake and laid the ball on the plate for Eze to apply the brilliant curing finish. He has now scored four times since breaking his duck for England against Latvia in March having only previously managed three all season.
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Villa tried to respond but found Palace’s well-organised defence a tough nut to crack, with Konsa denied by the sprawling Henderson after Watkins had won a corner. Palace should have doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time but somehow Mitchell couldn’t make proper contact with his right foot after being picked out by Daniel Muñoz.
Emery didn’t look amused as he marched down the tunnel and Villa’s players were sent out early for the second half. They almost found an equaliser within five minutes of the restart but Henderson pushed McGinn’s half-volley wide before producing an even better save to deny Lucas Digne.Palace’s next chance came from the spot when Kamara brought down Eze inside the area after a clever pass from Adam Wharton, and Anthony Taylor had no hesitation in awarding the penalty.
Yet Mateta could not make them pay as his effort clipped the outside of the post and went wide, cueing a loud roar of approval from Martínez. His next act, however, was to pick the ball out of his net after another mistake from Villa allowed Wharton to win back possession. Mateta was the provider as Sarr unleashed an unstoppable shot from outside the area before celebrating in front of his adoring fans.
Emery unloaded his bench and Leon Bailey came closest to making it a nervy finish, only for his goalbound effort to deflect off Torres on the ground and go over the bar. This was just one of those days for Villa, who could have lost by more had Sarr not fluffed an easy header before finishing off Eddie Nketiah’s pass late on to make it three. Palace will rightly head into next month’s final feeling that they are a match for anybody.