The fifth round of the FA Cup has concluded. Apart from one fixture, every tie featured at least one Premier League team. Half of the eight matches were all-Premier League affairs. Here’s how things unfolded for the Premier League representatives.
Aston Villa 2-0 Cardiff City
The first match of the round took place on Friday night as Aston Villa hosted Championship side Cardiff City at Villa Park. Despite dominating possession, the home side failed to open the scoring in the first half, with Cardiff goalkeeper Ethan Horvath making several key saves. Though the visitors were under pressure, they had a penalty shout in the first half.
However, Villa eventually found the breakthrough when Marco Asensio capitalized on a mishit pass from Marcus Rashford. Twelve minutes later, Asensio doubled the lead after receiving a pass from Ollie Watkins. If not for Horvath’s seven saves, the scoreline could have been even more emphatic.
Crystal Palace 3-1 Millwall
Saturday’s action began with two ties, one of which was a London derby as Crystal Palace hosted Championship side Millwall. The match started with a horrific challenge by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts on Jean-Philippe Mateta, resulting in a straight red card. Mateta was stretchered off and taken to the hospital with a cut on his head.
Playing with a numerical advantage, Palace took the lead just after the half-hour mark when a Will Hughes shot deflected off Millwall defender Japhet Tanganga for an own goal. The home side soon doubled their advantage after a failed clearance allowed Daniel Muñoz to find the net.
Despite the adversity, Millwall pulled one back through Wes Harding’s deflected shot in stoppage time. However, their 10 men struggled to mount a full comeback. Eddie Nketiah sealed the game for Palace with an excellent header.