A club with only three FA Cup semi-final appearances in their first 110 years is now heading to Wembley Stadium for the third time in a decade.
Crystal Palace’s quarter-final victory over Fulham was a statement performance, marked by defensive discipline, clinical finishing and a moment of magic from Eberechi Eze.
Fulham started brightly, pushing forward with energy, but their early momentum faded. Rodrigo Muniz came close inside two minutes, but their subsequent attacks lacked bite.
By contrast, Palace waited patiently for their moments before Eze took centre stage. Cutting inside from the left, he curled a perfect shot past Bernd Leno to stun Craven Cottage.
Minutes later, he turned provider. Beating his marker with ease, he floated in a cross for Ismaila Sarr, who guided his header home. Fulham never looked like recovering.
Manager Oliver Glasner admitted his team struggled early on. “We were really rusty after three weeks without a competitive game,” he said. “But Eze’s goal gave us belief.”
Fulham had chances to respond. Jefferson Lerma struck the crossbar with a volley, Andreas Pereira missed the target, and Willian’s second-half effort was comfortably saved.
The more they pushed, the more Palace stood firm.
Jean-Philippe Mateta returned after his injury but had little impact before being replaced. Replacement Eddie Nketiah wasted no time making his mark.
Exploiting Fulham’s high line, he raced through on goal and coolly slotted in the third. Glasner hailed his side’s collective effort.
“It’s not fair to focus on one player – it was a great team performance,” he added. “In the second half, if Fulham had scored, it would have been a different game, but we handled the pressure well.”
For Palace, this win is about more than just a semi-final spot. It is a sign of progress, a glimpse of what this squad is capable of under Glasner. With Wembley on the horizon, fans have every reason to dream.
