In Sunday’s 3-0 victory over second-tier Preston, Marcus Rashford scored his first goals for Aston Villa, advancing the team to the FA Cup semifinals for the first time since 2015.
Since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United on February 2, Rashford has rekindled his career. He just returned to the England squad, starting the recent World Cup qualifying matches against Latvia and Albania.
The striker scored the first goal at Deepdale in the 58th minute by tapping in Lucas Digne’s cross, and he subsequently scored a penalty in the 63rd after Morgan Rogers was fouled. In the seventieth minute, Jacob Ramsey sealed a resounding victory for Villa.
“It is a wonderful sensation,” Rashford remarked. “Since coming here, I feel like I have been playing football better and growing fitter.
“Before joining, I missed a lot of football. Right now, I am enjoying football and my body feels wonderful.
Palace and Villa were drawn to the semifinals, while Forest will play the winner of Bournemouth vs. Man City.
Villa will probably be the favorite if City loses since, under Spanish manager Unai Emery, the squad is back to its best and even made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League this season.
Villa has won the FA Cup seven times, but not since 1957. In the 2015 final, Villa lost 4-0 to Arsenal.
Preston, the only non-Premier League team in the last eight, was playing its first FA Cup quarterfinal match since the 1965-66 season.
The semifinals will be played at Wembley Stadium.
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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