Crystal Palace booked their place in the final with a commanding 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, thanks to a brilliant performance from Senegalese star Ismaila Sarr, who scored twice and set up another in a memorable night at Selhurst Park.

Palace took the lead in the 31st minute, with Sarr making an early impact. The winger picked out Eberechi Eze, who made no mistake with a clinical finish to open the scoring. It was the start of a night that belonged to Sarr.

In the 58th minute, Eddie Nketiah pounced on a loose ball from Youri Tielemans and quickly fed Sarr, who showed superb composure. He waited for Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to commit before coolly sliding the ball into the bottom corner to double Palace’s advantage with his first goal of the night.

The Eagles, known for their flair for spectacular goals, saved the best for last. Deep into stoppage time (90+4 minutes), Adam Wharton won possession and set Palace flying forward once more. The ball eventually found Sarr, who unleashed a stunning strike from nearly 25 yards out, arrowing it into the bottom corner to seal a magnificent 3-0 win.

After the game, Palace scorer Eberechi Eze spoke glowingly about the team’s performance — and reserved special praise for the night’s hero.

“Special day. I’m grateful to God for the opportunity to play here, to win, to go to the final. We want to go all the way and we believe we can do it,” Eze said.

On Sarr, he added:
“He’s top. I probably got this [man of the match award] prematurely, so I will probably be giving it to him inside, but he’s helped us so much this season.”

With Palace now one win away from potentially lifting their first-ever major trophy, Eze exuded confidence:
“100% [confident]. We have showed performances like this all the time, we’re not worried or fearful of facing anyone. I trust us that we will put in the work and hopefully we can do it.”

For Crystal Palace fans, belief is growing — and with Ismaila Sarr in this kind of form, anything seems possible.