Palace, Forest advance to FA Cup semis

AP:

EBERECHI EZE starred as Crystal Palace advanced to the semifinals of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win over Fulham yesterday.

Nottingham Forest also progressed after beating hosts Brighton on penalties in their quarterfinal. The game ended 0-0 after extra time and Forest won the shootout 4-3.

Eze, now an England international, scored the opening goal for Palace in the quarterfinals at Craven Cottage and then created a second for Ismaila Sarr.

“That’s what we expect from him, and that’s why we love him,” Palace defender Marc Guehi said. “I tell him every day he’s one of the best, but it’s not about saying it, it’s about showing it and he done it.”

Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to complete the win for Palace, who became the first to book a place in the next round and can now look forward to a semifinal at Wembley Stadium.

On Sunday, second-division Preston face Aston Villa and Manchester City travel to Bournemouth.

Palace recorded a club-record sixth away win in a row, according to statistician Opta.

“It’s this group, the character of this group, the attitude of this group, the work rate of this group and this all gives us a belief that we can win every single game,” Palace manager Oliver Glasner said.

BEST RUN

Palace have never won the Cup and their best run in recent years ended in semifinal defeat to Chelsea in 2022.

The London club have reached the final twice – in 1990 and 2016 – losing on each occasion to Manchester United.

This year could be one of their best chances to finally get their hands on the trophy with so many of English football’s leading clubs having been eliminated before the quarterfinals.

Eze’s match-winning performance ended a memorable week for the forward, who also scored for England in Monday’s World Cup qualifying win over Latvia.

Cutting in from the left, he curled a low shot from outside the box that went in off the post to fire Palace ahead in the 34th minute.

Four minutes later, he provided the cross for Sarr to head in a second for the visitors.

Substitute Nketiah fired through Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s legs to seal the win in the 75th.

Another bonus for Palace was the return of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who played for the first time since sustaining a serious head injury that required 25 stitches on a severely lacerated ear.

The forward was hospitalised after being kicked in the head by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts in the last round of the Cup earlier this month.

Wearing a protective covering on his ear, the French forward played for 70 minutes before being replaced by Nketiah.