By Harry De Cosemo.
Crystal Palace booked a trip to Wembley with a dominant victory over Everton in their FA Cup quarter-final at Selhurst Park.
First-half goals from Marc Guehi and Jean-Philippe Mateta put them in full control before Wilfried Zaha and Will Hughes secured the win, as the hosts’ verve and attacking purpose overpowered a poor Toffees side.
Such a heavy defeat looked unlikely as Everton made a ferocious start, almost taking the lead inside the first minute through Michael Keane before Richarlison tangled with Guehi but was ruled to be offside.
However, after Everton’s Andros Townsend was forced off with an injury, the hosts settled down and Guehi put them ahead on 25 minutes with a powerful header from Michael Olise’s pinpoint corner.
Everton’s poor marking almost cost them again moments later as Zaha got across Godfrey to meet Mateta’s byeline cross, only to fire narrowly wide.
With half-time looming, Palace made it 2-0. Eberechi Eze combined with Zaha, who reversed roles with Mateta, crossing low for the striker to finish emphatically past Jordan Pickford.
Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was summoned at half-time by Everton, but there was no immediate upturn in fortune for Frank Lampard’s side, who lacked ideas and energy.
Zaha made the result sure 11 minutes from time, slamming home the rebound after Olise’s looped shot came back off the post.
And, after a VAR check for handball, Hughes compounded Everton’s misery with a close-range finish in the closing stages.
Zaha no longer the only star at Palace
There was a time when Palace needed Zaha to shine if they were to get a result, but this was another great example of Patrick Vieira’s side now having plentiful routes to victory.
The Ivorian played his part with an assist and a late goal, but there was also much creativity on show in the final third from Eze, who has recently returned from a long-term injury, and Olise.
Conor Gallagher put in another superb performance, dictating the play against an Everton side with no ideas in response. Whoever meets Palace at Wembley will face a tough task.
Toffees come unstuck again
If Thursday’s victory over Newcastle offered hope of a late-season revival for Everton, Sunday was a stark reminder of why they have struggled so much.
Their good start needed to lead somewhere, and the fact that a break in play stunted their rhythm to such a degree shows just how fragile their confidence is.
Calvert-Lewin is not yet fully fit, but he was unable to make a difference after his introduction.
And Lampard will be searching for more inspiration in the battle against relegation from the Premier League.