AFCON 2025
Crystal Palace produced a stunning performance to defeat Aston Villa 3-0 at Wembley today, booking their place in the FA Cup final and sparking dreams of a first-ever triumph in the competition.
Eberechi Eze lit up the semi-final with a breathtaking strike in the first half, curling a long-range effort past Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez after a slick Palace move.
Despite missing a penalty early in the second half — Jean-Philippe Mateta the culprit — Palace maintained their grip on the game, showing both creativity and resilience.
Ismaïla Sarr doubled the advantage midway through the second half, pouncing on a defensive lapse before firing home.
In stoppage time, Sarr struck again to seal an emphatic win, this time after being teed up by substitute Eddie Nketiah, sending the Palace fans into raptures.
Aston Villa, who have impressed under Unai Emery this season, never truly got going. John McGinn and Douglas Luiz battled to impose themselves in midfield, but Villa lacked the cutting edge needed to trouble Dean Henderson in the Palace goal.
Crystal Palace will face either Manchester City or Nottingham Forest in the final on May 24.
