WEMBLEY — Eberechi Eze has never lifted a major trophy. Neither have Crystal Palace for that matter. But now they are both on the brink.
And that was largely thanks to Eze, Palace’s man for the big occasion who has so often been their talisman since joining from QPR in 2020.
The Greenwich-born 26-year-old has been developing decent habits of late. Not only is he getting used to scoring screamers, but also scoring at Wembley, having netted his first for England at this storied stadium last month.
EBERE EZE. THAT IS INCREDIBLE.
An unbelievable goal from the @CPFC and @England magician #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/SD364TWvBF
Then it was confirmed. Eze, rightly, was named man of the match, walking off to a huge ovation from the Palace half of Wembley with minutes to go before Sarr scored his second in injury time to take this victory from convincing to emphatic.
This one will hurt most of all, though, with Villa’s own wait for a major trophy set to reach 30 years, their last triumph coming in the League Cup in 1996.
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Palace fans had brought the flares inside Wembley, and while that led to smoke initially, it was Eberechi Eze who brought the spark.
The fierce effort saw Villa concede from their first shot on target once more, the 22nd time this season, while Pau Torres was guilty of losing the ball to gift Palace possession.
Eze does it for Crystal Palace (Photo: Reuters)Whether Martinez could have saved it perhaps doesn’t do the pace of Eze’s justice, and on balance it was deserved after Jean-Philippe Mateta had just seen a goal disallowed for supposedly fouling Ezri Konsa in the build-up.
Villa were pressing but it was Palace who had a chance to go two clear, Eze earning the penalty after being fouled by Boubacar Kamara, only for Mateta to then shave the woodwork.
Villa looked rocked and the Palace end was rocking. They brought the noise to this semi-final, never shutting up. They’ll do so again in three weeks’ time, and whether they face City or Forest, no one will count them out, especially with Eze in the side.
He has brought the magic for Palace in the FA Cup, and now he is 90 minutes away from writing his name into the club’s history books. As are the whole of this steely-focused squad who look so desperate for silverware, and are so close to touching it.
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