<figure id="attachment_3044829" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3044829" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3044829" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/514c0997-crystal-palace.jpg" alt="Crystal Palace FA cup" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3044829" class="wp-caption-text">Crystal Palace&#8217;s Ismaila Sarr celebrates after scoring his side&#8217;s second goal against Aston Villa at the Wembley stadium. (AP pic)</figcaption></figure>
LONDON: Crystal Palace reached the FA Cup final for the first time in nine years as Ismaila Sarr&#8217;s double and a rocket from Eberechi Eze sealed a 3-0 win against Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday.
Oliver Glasner&#8217;s side took the lead in the semi-final through Eze&#8217;s long-range blast before Sarr netted twice in the second half.
In the final on May 17, Palace will face Nottingham Forest or Manchester City, who meet in the second semi-final on Sunday.
The Eagles have never won the FA Cup, losing their two final appearances against Manchester United in 2016 and 1990.
&#8220;All the credit to the players. They had to work so hard. They had to overcome a few difficult moments,&#8221; Glasner said.
&#8220;We got more control and it was an unbelievable performance. The players stuck to the plan and we never lost our heads.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know at the moment how I feel &#8211; a bit exhausted. The players have four days off now. They should enjoy the moment.&#8221;
Villa, who last won the FA Cup in 1957, were hoping to make the final for the first time since 2015.
But Unai Emery&#8217;s team produced a dismal display and will have to settle for fighting to qualify for the Champions League via a top five finish in the Premier League.
&#8220;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&#8217;t do. In transition they are very good, and they deserve to win,&#8221; Emery said.
&#8220;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.&#8221;
Jean-Philippe Mateta had the ball in the back of the net just before the half-hour mark, but it was chalked off after a VAR check confirmed the Palace striker had fouled Ezri Konsa in the build-up.
There was no such doubt about Eze&#8217;s opener, however, after Sarr got in the way of Pau Torres&#8217; pass, then collected the resulting ricochet to the right of the Villa area.
Sarr found Eze and the midfielder curled a superb strike beyond the reach of Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Torres looked for an instant reply when he nodded just over the crossbar.
Konsa came closer, forcing Dean Henderson into a low save with a header of his own from a corner.
Villa piled on more pressure after the restart when Henderson made another fine save to deny John McGinn&#8217;s sharp volley, then Lucas Digne fired narrowly wide through a crowd of players.
Palace were awarded a 53rd-minute penalty after Eze was tugged down by Boubacar Kamara and Mateta stepped up to the spot after a VAR check, but his shot clipped the post and went wide.
Just as Villa started to gain momentum, Adam Wharton intercepted a pass and, after a quick touch from Mateta, Sarr fired into the bottom corner.
Henderson repelled a blast from Villa substitute Leon Bailey, moments after Mateta slid in to deny Ross Barkley.
Sarr nodded Eze&#8217;s cross off target, while Matty Cash&#8217;s attempt to claw a late goal back for Villa sailed wide.
Sarr put the seal on Palace&#8217;s impressive performance in stoppage-time, outpacing Konsa before slotting home to send the Eagles into the final.

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Palace sweep past Villa to reach FA Cup final

Ismaila Sarr’s double and Eberechi Eze’s rocket seal a 3-0 win, sending the Eagles to their first final in nine years.

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