Palace book Wembley trip with win over Fulham

Eberechi Eze capped a memorable week with a goal and an assist as a clinical Crystal Palace beat London rivals Fulham 3-0 on Saturday to book their place in the FA Cup semifinals.

The winger, who scored his first England goal on Monday, whipped in a brilliant opener against the run of play in the 34th minute to stun the home crowd.

Four minutes later Eze's left-wing cross was headed in by Ismaïla Sarr to put Palace in control of the tie.

Most of the second half was played in Palace's half as Fulham tried to respond but the hosts were caught cold again when substitute Eddie Nketiah, a Cup winner with Arsenal in 2020, fired a shot past Bernd Leno in the 75th minute.

While Oliver Glasner's Palace can look forward to a second Wembley semifinal in four seasons and dream of winning the FA Cup for the first time in the their history, Fulham must console themselves with a push for Europe via the Premier League.

Much of the pre-match talk was about the return of Palace's leading scorer this season Jean-Philippe Mateta after sustaining a horrible facial injury in the previous round against Millwall.

Mateta wore a mask to protect the ear wound that required more than 20 stitches and his name was sung by Palace's large and vociferous following. But it was Eze who stole the show.

"We're confident in ourselves and we know what we can do, we know what we are capable of," he said.

"It's games like today where you show the mentality which will get you further in the tournament."

London's oldest football stadium bathed in beautiful spring sunshine alongside the River Thames was the perfect setting for the first FA Cup clash between the clubs since 1907.

With so many of the usual suspects having bowed out, fans of Fulham and Palace arrived with genuine belief that this could be the year they win their first major silverware.

Fulham, FA Cup runners-up in 1975, dominated the opening half an hour with Rodrigo Muniz going close and Andreas Pereira scuffing a good chance wide.

For all Fulham's territorial superiority, though, it was Palace who packed the greater punch.

The visitors almost took the lead when Jefferson Lerma dipped a sumptuous volley against the crossbar.

Eze broke the deadlock in stunning fashion, dropping his shoulder after receiving the ball wide on the left before lashing an unstoppable shot in off the far post.

It was a sucker punch for Fulham and they were still clearing their heads when Eze sent in a cross from the left that Sarr met with a guided header to send the visiting fans wild.

Fulham applied plenty of pressure after the break with Willian almost scoring a replica of Eze's goal but being denied by Dean Henderson while Calvin Bassey nearly bundled home after a goalmouth scramble.

There was not much conviction in Fulham's play, however, and Nketiah put them out of their misery as twice Cup runners-up Palace reached the semifinals for the sixth time.

Later on Saturday Brighton and Hove Albion, another club without an FA Cup triumph, host Nottingham Forest.