Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa LIVE RESULT: Eze and Sarr score screamers as Eagles land spot in FA Cup final – reaction
CRYSTAL PALACE have beaten Aston Villa 3-0 to book their spot in the FA Cup final.
Eberechi Eze put the Eagles ahead with a thunderbolt on 31 minutes.
Early in the second half, Jean-Philippe Mateta had the chance to put his side two up from the penalty spot, but the French striker put it wide from 12 yards.
Ismaila Sarr made it 2-0 to Palace just before the hour mark with a stunning strike from the edge of the box.
The winger doubled his tally in injury time with a superb finish to cap off a dominant 3-0 win.
The Eagles will face the winner of Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City in the huge final on May 17.
- Match result: Crystal Palace 3-0 Aston Villa
- Crystal Palace team: Henderson, Munoz, Richards, Guehi, Lacroix, Mitchell, Wharton, Kamada, Sarr, Eze, Mateta
- Aston Villa team: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne, McGinn, Tielemans, Asensio, Rogers, Watkins
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Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
23 - SO CLOSE!
Morgan Rogers fires a half volley just wide of the post after Palace fail to clear a weak cross in from Lucas Digne.
The Villans should be one up here.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
22 - John McGinn dispossesses Eberechi Eze in the middle of the park but Anthony Taylor denies the attacker a freekick and Villa come away with possession.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
21 - Ismaila Sarr's first dangerous involvement sees the attack send a cross well wide of the target and into the travelling Aston Villa support.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
19 - Palace now have two yellow cards and Anthony Taylor has put his foot down after a lenient start to the match.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
18 - YELLOW
Tyrick Mitchell sees yellow after pulling down Rogers on the break .
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
18 - Morgan Rogers surges down the right flank with pace and strength, forcing Tyrick Mitchell to bring him down.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
17 - YELLOW
Boubacar Kamara receives a yellow card for his challenge on Mateta.Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
17 - Mateta drives forward with options either side of him before Boubacar Kamara is forced to bring him down.
Freekick to Palace.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
15 - Ollie Watkins receives a ball with his back to goal before being bundled over.
Anthony Taylor shakes his head and continues to let the game flow with an old school refereeing performance.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
14 - The smoke has just about cleared from the exploits of the Palace faithful.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
12 - Daichi Kamara takes an audacious effort from range but thumps the ball into row Z.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
10 - Palace look as though they might break out down the right through Daniel Munoz but the ball runs out of play and back come the Villa.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
7 - The Eagles fans are winning the battle in support as it stands but Aston Villa's joy in possession may soon change that.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
5 - Lucas Digne goes down on the left hand side hoping for a free kick but Anthony Taylor waves the Frenchman to get up.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
4 - Villa are passing the ball well and shifting from side to side.
Palace press high but have been settled by the possession Villa are enjoying.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa
1 - An early chance for Aston Villa with a neat ball down the right but it's shepherded well by Maxence Lacroix, and goes out for a goal kick.
KICK OFF!
And, we're off!
Anthony Taylor blows the whistle and the game begins.
And the teams are out
Here come the two sides as both fans display tifos and wave flags in their colours.
Blue and red balloons are bouncing around the ground as the two sets of players shake hands and make their way over to take pre-match photos.
Aston Villa dominant in FA Cup
While Palace have come out on top in recent meetings between the two sides, the Claret and Blue have eliminated the Eagles each of the three times the two sides have met in the FA Cup.
Emery's side will be hoping to hold on to that record today with Palace failing to win in their last four Premier League fixtures.
Electric atmosphere
The atmosphere is electric here at the home of football, with empty seats few and far between.
The Eagles fans sang loudly behind their team's lineup announcement, while Villa fans at the opposite end of Wembley met each Palace player with a resounding boo.
Villa looking to bounce back
Aston Villa will be hoping to regain momentum after falling victim to a last minute winner scored by Manchester City's Matheus Nunes on Tuesday.
With only four points between the Villans and Champions League football, a win here could propel them in the Premier League fight for Europe.
Credit: AP
Crystal Palace unbeaten in last four meetings with Villa
The Eagles have won three of the last four meetings between the two sides, with the one fixture ending as a draw.
Palace knocked the Villans out of the League cup earlier this season and will be looking for more joy today.
Aston Villa are out
And, the Villans are out on the pitch warming up in front of a sea of claret and blue.
Marcus Rashford out with a 'knock'
Reports suggest Marcus Rashford's absence is down to a 'knock' and the winger will not miss the remainder of the season.
Fans were shocked to see the attacker's name missing from Unai Emery's team sheet.
Crystal Palace are out on the pitch
The Eagles fans welcomed their side out to warm up with a roar as they prepare for a historic FA Cup semi-final clash.