Eberechi Eze capped off a remarkable week with a goal and an assist, leading Crystal Palace to a commanding 3-0 victory over London rivals Fulham on Saturday, securing their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Fresh off scoring his first England goal on Monday, Eze opened the scoring in the 34th minute with a stunning strike against the run of play, silencing the home crowd. Just four minutes later, his pinpoint cross from the left found Ismaila Sarr, who headed it home to put Palace firmly in control.
Despite Fulham dominating possession in the second half, Palace remained resilient. The hosts were caught off guard once again in the 75th minute when substitute Eddie Nketiah fired past Bernd Leno to seal the victory.
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi spoke after the game, “We dug deep and got our rewards. Big credit to the manager and the staff, we make sure we are set up in the right way with real leaders on the pitch. There is resilience in the team and that’s what we need.
“We’ll take it one game at a time. We did what we had to do today, we focus on the league and then focus on who we get in the next round. One game at a time. We thank God for this opportunity so we will do our best to take it.”
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze speaking said, “It was an important goal. I’m happy to help the team and that’s what I’m here for. We didn’t start the best, it was difficult and there was a lot of defending but eventually we broke them down.
On his goal, he continued, “I want to get the ball in the pockets and cutting inside, thank God it went in today. We took our chances when we got them and we put in a good performance’’.
“We’re confident in ourselves and we know what we can do, we know what we are capable of. It’s games like today where you show the mentality which will get you further in the tournament.”
Eberechi Eze’s 10 assists for Crystal Palace in all competitions this season is as many as in his previous two seasons combined (four in 2022-23, six in 2023-24), while he’s scored and assisted in the same game for the second time in 2024-25, also doing so against Queens Park Rangers in the League Cup in September.
Oliver Glasner’s side can now look ahead to a semi-final showdown at Wembley, with dreams of securing their first-ever FA Cup triumph. Meanwhile, Fulham will shift their focus to their Premier League campaign as they chase European qualification.
