Crystal Palace will play at Wembley yet again, after another strong cup run saw them win 3-0 at Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday afternoon - and Micah Richards has praised unsung hero Ismaila Sarr for his efforts in the capital, naming the forward as 'brilliant'.
Eberechi Eze scored the opener with a wonderfully wrapped shot beyond Bernd Leno, but it was his cross just moments later that found Sarr free in the area, glancing home to give the Eagles a quickfire double and put one foot onto Wembley Way. The Senegal international now has 13 goal involvements in just 35 games for Palace this season, including seven strikes in the Premier League - and he's enjoying one of the best seasons of his career to date, which Richards has taken note of.
Richards: Sarr 'Brilliant' For Palace in FA Cup Win
The Eagles soared to Wembley yet again after Sarr's contribution
Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr embrace
Palace's win means a fifth Wembley trip in little over 12 years for Palace, finishing as runners-up in the 2016 FA Cup final, whilst a Championship play-off final win and another FA Cup semi-final run in 2022 has seen them take to the national stadium a handful of times.
Ismaila Sarr's Premier League statistics - Crystal Palace squad ranking
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But it's players such as Sarr that have made that possible for Palace fans - and despite Richard noticing the impact of Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta, Sarr was the unsung hero at Craven Cottage - to which the pundit gave the former Marseille man heaps of credit. Richards said via the Rest is Football podcast:
"You know what, we always talk about Eze - and the goal was brilliant. We've talked about Mateta.
"But Sarr, for this team, he's brilliant. He just doesn't stop running. I remember when he was at Watford and he was linked to Liverpool for about £45million, and it never happened. Things sort of went a little downhill for him.
"He's gone to Palace, and now he's looking like the player of a couple of seasons ago. He's just really athletic, but gets in the right areas.
"His movement looks like it's gotten sharper as well, so it's nice to see him doing well."
Palace will now have Aston Villa to contend with in the semi-final at the national stadium, which takes place on the weekend of the 26th of April - and if they do progress, they'll face the winner of Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City.
It would represent Palace's first major honour in their history, having only finished as runners-up in the FA Cup twice.
Statistics courtesy of WhoScored. Correct as of 31-03-25.
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