Crystal Palace beat Fulham 3-0 on Saturday in a London rivalry game to advance to the FA Cup Semi-Finals. Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace had a game to remember with a beautiful outside-of-the-box goal and an assist.
Eze’s goal came in the 34th minute in a hectic passage of play. Eze got the ball near the outside of the box as he feinted outside, cut back onto his favored right foot, and ripped a low bouncing shot. It was a beautiful curling shot that evaded the defenders and gave the keeper no chance to save it.
Just four minutes later, Eze got another one-versus-one opportunity. This time, he cut to the outside onto his left foot and whipped an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Ismaïla Sarr that also found the back of the net.
It’s been an encouraging week for Eze, who was called up to England’s National Team for a couple of World Cup Qualifying games. Eze scored against Latvia to seal the 3-0 win, as the team looked strong in their first games with Thomas Tuchel as manager.
Palace has won their last five games in a row, including a 4-1 win over Aston Villa, who they will face in the FA Cup Semi-Finals. After an abysmal start to the season, the Eagles have fought back to 12th in the Premier League and now have a date in the FA Cup Semi-Finals.
Early in the season, it looked like it might’ve been a relegation fight for the Eagles, but manager Oliver Glasner has the squad producing one strong performance after another. Questions surrounding Glasner’s future with the club have since quieted down.
Crystal Palace has never won the FA Cup, but they are serious contenders this year. They came into this match against Fulham with confidence, and their star players stepped up.
Their frontline looked dangerous, with Eze at his best and Jean-Philippe Mateta returning from injury. The defense has solidified itself with a strong back three of Marc Guehi, Chris Richards, and Maxence Lacroix. It’s not the most favorable matchup against Villa, but Palace will be hard to beat if they play with the same confidence and quality.
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