Eberechi Eze starred as Crystal Palace beat London rivals Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage to book their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
It’s been a dream week for Eze, who scored his first England goal against Latvia at Wembley on Monday – and will now be heading back to the national stadium with Palace after striking a stunner in off the far post and then crossing for unmarked Ismaila Sarr to nod in the visitors’ second.
Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with team-mates
In the second half, Eddie Nketiah then stepped off the bench to stylishly wrap it up with a finish through Bernd Leno’s legs.
Jefferson Lerma had rattled the crossbar with a super volley before the breakthrough but Fulham had been on top, with Rodrigo Muniz shooting wide inside two minutes and Andreas Pereira passing up a good chance after good work from Calvin Bassey.
The hosts had also appealed for Adam Wharton to be sent off when the Palace midfielder, already on a yellow card, kicked out at Muniz on the halfway line. Referee Darren England blew for a free-kick but despite a VAR check there was no further punishment.
Palace were well organised after the break, frustrating Fulham, who came closest to grabbing a lifeline when Willian’s deflected strike had Dean Henderson at full stretch and Calvin Bassey miscued in a goalmouth scramble from the subsequent corner.
But just as in the 2-0 Premier League win for Palace here last month, Fulham couldn’t carve a way through, and Palace punished them on the counter when Nketiah narrowly stayed onside to slot in the third.
Fulham have now lost their last five FA Cup quarter-finals but must pick themselves up swiftly for Tuesday’s trip to another London rival in Arsenal, where they will hope to maintain their push for European qualification through the Premier League.
Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta wore a protective ear guard in his first game back after needing 25 stitches following Millwall’s Liam Roberts’ red-card foul on him in the previous round
As for Palace, they’ll now be circling the weekend of 26/27 April on the calendar for a return to Wembley, where they’ll have the chance to make up for their 2022 semi-final loss to Chelsea and give themselves a shot of finally getting their hands on the famous FA Cup trophy.
Eze magic makes Palace fans dream
Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team’s first goal
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:
What a week it’s been for Eberechi Eze. His first England goal on Monday. A goal and an assist to send Palace to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.
Aside from Jefferson Lerma’s speculative volley, Palace had been struggling to trouble Fulham defensively in the first half. But the swiftness with which Eze cut in off the left onto his right foot spelled danger and the finish was unstoppable, fired in off the far post. Pure class.
His pinpoint cross for Ismaila Sarr soon after put Palace in complete control.
Eze’s raw numbers may not be as eye-catching this term – he has two Premier League goals and six assists compared with 11 and four last season – but he’s still electric and his performance at Craven Cottage was a reminder of his quality. With Eze fit and firing, Palace’s FA Cup dream is real.
Fulham blow their big chance
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:
The Fulham fans were singing ‘We’re going to Wembley’ when the teams were coming out for the first half, such was the confidence at Craven Cottage that Marco Silva’s side would march on to the national stadium, 50 years after they made it to the 1975 FA Cup final.
With the draw opening up and Fulham impressing this season, this felt like a great opportunity to underline the progress made under Silva. Their team started with that belief, too, completely on the front foot in the opening part of the game, with Rodrigo Muniz and Andreas Pereira going close.
But across the tie a lack of final-third spark and quality did for their hopes of making the final four.
Pereira gave the ball away on several occasions in the final third, while Willian and Antonee Robinson were unable to cut through down the left, as appeared to be the gameplan. Silva rolled out his full complement of attacking options but an inability to break through an organised Palace side and defensive lapses – such as the marking, or lack of, for Ismaila Sarr’s header – proved costly.
A quick reset is required to focus on a Premier League campaign which could still bring European football. But this is a low, a blow and that long wait goes on.
