Villa to face Palace in FA Cup Semi-Finals

Unai Emery's side defeated Preston North End 3-0 on Sunday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the world's oldest domestic cup competition.

Marcus Rashford ended his four-month scoring drought to propel Aston Villa into the FA Cup semi-finals with a win against Preston at Deepdale. The on-loan forward's last goal for Manchester United came against Everton in December.

But, after a few missed chances against the competition's final Championship team, Rashford finally found the target when he knocked in Lucas Digne's 58th-minute cutback.

Five minutes later, Rashford held his nerve to send David Cornell the wrong way with a penalty after Andrew Hughes fouled Morgan Rogers.

Rashford's first goals since his double against Everton on December 1 secured Villa's chances of winning the FA Cup for the first time since 1957, if they can defeat Crystal Palace in the semi-finals.

Preston fought valiantly, but the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman and on-loan defender Kaine Kasler-Hayden, who was unable to play against his parent club due to injury, highlighted the significant disparity in quality.

Once in front, Villa tightened their grip, and 19 minutes later, Jacob Ramsey slammed in a third from the edge of the box, with Digne again providing the assist, and Villa advanced to the last four for the first time in a decade.