Crystal Palace is in the FA Cup final for the third time. Oliver Glasner’s team won the semi-final against Aston Villa by a surprisingly clear 3-0 margin.
The game at Wembley Stadium started at a relatively low level, with little happening in front of either goal. But after half an hour, things got interesting: after a successful dribble, Sarr passed back to Eze, who struck the ball perfectly from 17 meters out and spectacularly fired it under the crossbar (31′). Villa offered very little in the first half, while Mitchell even missed a good chance to make it 2-0 on a counterattack (45′).
Oliver Glasner’s team had an even better chance shortly after the break: Kamara fouled Eze and Palace were awarded a penalty, but the spot kick from the otherwise strong former Mainz player Mateta grazed the outside post and flew past the goal (53). A blow to the South Londoners’ hopes of reaching the final? On the contrary!
Just five minutes later, Mateta passed to Sarr, who had plenty of space in the center, after Wharton won the ball early. The attacker shot from just under 25 meters and found the left corner with a precise low shot (58) – the second spectacular long-range goal of the day. According to the BBC, it was the first game since 2018 in which a team scored two goals from outside the penalty area at Wembley Stadium.
Sarr puts the icing on the cake
Villa, who are five places and twelve points ahead of Palace in the league, disappointed overall, with only the introduction of Bailey providing some momentum. The former Leverkusen player had two good chances to pull one back, but once his shot was blocked by the Palace defense after Henderson’s uncertainty (68th minute), and once the goalkeeper himself was on hand (78th minute). So it was once again the Londoners who had the final say, with Sarr perfectly set up by Nketiah and confidently making it 3-0 with only Martinez to beat (90+4).
Moments later, Crystal Palace’s third FA Cup final appearance was official. In 1990 and 2016, the team lost to Manchester United, and this time they could face another Manchester team: Nottingham Forest and Manchester City will face each other in the second semi-final on Sunday.
