Crystal Palace have reached the FA Cup final for the third time in their history, following a commanding 3–0 semi-final victory over Aston Villa at Wembley.
Eberechi Eze opened the scoring with a long-range strike, before Ismaïla Sarr added two more goals to seal the win. Under manager Oliver Glasner, Palace will face Manchester City in the final on May 17, aiming for their first major trophy.
Eberechi Eze opened the scoring with a long-range strike, before Ismaïla Sarr added two more goals to seal the win. Under manager Oliver Glasner, Palace will face Manchester City in the final on May 17, aiming for their first major trophy.
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00:01Well, Crystal Palace are FA Cup finalists this season, having defeated Aston Villa by three goals to nil at Wembley Stadium in the first semi-final.
00:10They'll take on Manchester City at the end of May now, who also won their semi-final 2-0 against Nottingham Forest.
00:18For Crystal Palace, it was two goals from Saar and one from Eze that saw them over the line against a very good Aston Villa side,
00:25who are, of course, themselves fighting for the top five and Champions League qualification in the Premier League this season.
00:30But on the day at Wembley, it was all about Crystal Palace, from the supporters to Oliver Glasner to the players on the pitch,
00:37who all turned up to get their team and the club into the final where they'll take on Manchester City.
00:44Aston Villa, despite all their prowess and quality that they have within their ranks, didn't really have much of a look in.
00:51And, of course, when you consider that Crystal Palace also missed a handful of golden opportunities in both halves,
00:57including a missed penalty from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
01:00It's scary to think how far they could have actually been ahead in that game against Aston Villa,
01:04who, of course, just come off the back of a loss in the Premier League against Manchester City,
01:08but having also beaten Newcastle 4-1.
01:11So, things were looking OK for Aston Villa, but perhaps that loss against Manchester City just knocked the stuffing out of them a little bit.
01:18And on the day, Crystal Palace just turned up and they wanted it more at Wembley.
01:22So, for Palace, what a day, what an occasion.
01:25But, of course, now they'll have to prepare for another Wembley date, this time against the reigning Premier League champions.
01:31They certainly won't be favourites in this game,
01:32but if they are able to replicate any of that display against Aston Villa that they showed against Manchester City,
01:40they are within, or, sorry, they will be within a good chance of lifting what will be their first ever major honour as a football club.
01:48Now, in the semi-final, Palace outplayed Aston Villa, an informed side.
01:54I mean, going into this, both sides were in incredible form domestically.
01:59Obviously, Aston Villa just crashed out of the Champions League to PSG,
02:03given their role and having a great campaign.
02:06They're looking to get back to, you know, Champions League again next season.
02:10Obviously, the race is incredibly tough there.
02:13But Crystal Palace have been so good as of late.
02:15I mean, if you look at from the start of this year, not many sides have been better in the Premier League.
02:20And, you know, obviously, the top couple of sides, maybe.
02:23But Palace outside, the best of the rest sort of situation have been unbelievable.
02:28Eberucci Eze, he's made of Saar, both scoring.
02:32You know, Saar with a brace.
02:33I mean, it was a comprehensive 3-0 win as well.
02:35Unai Emery has been really tipped tactically lately as one of the best managers in the league.
02:40And, you know, you can't really argue with that.
02:42But Oliver Glasner's side played, you know, this plan to perfection.
02:46They had one sort of goal, and that was to get into the final.
02:49And they did that fantastically well.
02:51You know, Eberucci Eze has been unbelievable this season.
02:54He's made of Saar, stepped into his own.
02:56You know, maybe slightly slower start at Palace when he first joined.
03:00But he's now looking unbelievable.
03:02But it does present an opportunity for Palace to secure their first major trophy in the club's 120-year history,
03:11which is unbelievable for them.
03:13And Palace fans will be hoping that they get over the line.
03:15Obviously, Manchester City haven't had a great season.
03:18Pep said himself that even winning the tournament again for them, you know,
03:25it still won't rectify the sort of problems that have gone on this season for Manchester City.
03:29So I think, in my opinion, it's a huge chance for Palace to go to Wembley again,
03:35set out that crowd, being some of the TIFOs and the sort of displays before the game from the fans were unbelievable.
03:43And it's a huge chance to go and get their first ever major trophy,
03:46something that they, I think, certainly deserve this season.
03:49They've been fantastic.
03:50Oliver Glasner's come in.
03:51It looks like they've got the managerial appointment correct,
03:54and he hasn't tailed off like previous managers have.
03:57And hopefully, Palace can get it over the line in the FA Cup final.
04:03The happiness and really we're proud how we performed.
04:06It was not the last step to go.
04:09It was one more step, but an important step.
04:13But we have still one step to go.
04:15And, yeah, when you play a final, you want to win it.
04:20And so, for me, I'm really proud and I'm enjoying then walking in front of the stand,
04:31seeing all the people, how happy they are.
04:33And then in the dressing room, everybody.
04:36It's a great moment.
04:37But I think when I start dancing, I destroy this moment.
04:41So it's better not to do it.