- Marcus Rashford scored his first two goals for Aston Villa in the space of five minutes
- Jacob Ramsey sealed the win with a brilliant solo effort in the 71st minute
- Unai Emery’s men recovered from a poor first half to dominate the second period and beat Preston 3:0
Кey takeaways:
Aston Villa reached FA Cup semi-finals after defeating Preston 3:0 at Deepdale. Unai Emery’s side played a weak first half but picked up the pace after the break and deserved the win. The key figure was Marcus Rashford, who netted twice in the span of five minutes (58’ and 63’ pen). These were his first goals in a Villa shirt. Jacob Ramsey (71′) also found the net and extinguished the hosts’ hopes with a third goal.
It's been a special couple of weeks for @MarcusRashford ❤️
Last week, he made his return to the @England setup, having not previously featured since March 2024 🏴
Today, he scored a brace to send @AVFCOfficial to the #EmiratesFACup semi-finals 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7cCZAWv0vt
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 30, 2025
Aston Villa controlled more of the ball before the break, but the visitors actually looked more motivated. In the 14th minute, Konsa connected well with a header after an Asensio cross, but the ball flew just wide of the far post.
The Birmingham outfit came alive in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Rogers picked out Rashford in the box, but the forward failed to strike cleanly at the first attempt. The ball fell back to him, and although Asensio was unmarked in front of goal, Rashford decided to finish himself, only to see his effort cleared.
Five minutes later, Rashford finally opened his account for Villa. Ramsey found Lucas Digne on the left wing, and the Frenchman delivered a low cross towards the penalty spot, where the Manchester United academy graduate struck on the move.
Shortly after that, Rogers missed a huge chance when Megoma blocked his shot on the line. But in the 61st minute, Rogers was brought down just inside the penalty area. Rashford stepped up and converted the spot kick confidently, confirming Villa’s place in the semi-finals.
In the 71st minute, Jacob Ramsey wrapped things up with a fantastic solo run and a strike just outside the box to make it 3:0.