Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest advance to FA Cup semifinals

Brighton, Mar. 31: Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest booked places in the semifinals of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Eberechi Eze starred for Palace with a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win at Fulham. Goalkeeper Matz Sels was the hero for Forest with two saves in a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Brighton after the game ended 0-0.

Eze's match-winning performance came after he also scored for England in Monday's World Cup qualifying win over Latvia.

"That's what we expect from him, and that's why we love him," Palace defender Marc Guehi said. "I tell him every day he's one of the best, but it's not about saying it, it's about showing it and he's done it."

Palace on winning road streak

With victory at Fulham, Palace recorded a club-record sixth away win in row, according to statistician Opta.

"It's this group, the character of this group, the attitude of this group, the work rate of this group and this all gives us a belief that we can win every single game," Palace manager Oliver Glasner said.

Palace has never won the Cup and its best recent run ended in semifinal defeat to Chelsea in 2022. The London club has reached the final twice — in 1990 and 2016 — losing on each occasion to Manchester United.

This year could be one of its best chances to lift the trophy with so many of English soccer's leading clubs eliminated.

Eze fired Palace ahead in the 34th minute at Craven Cottage. Cutting in from the left, he curled a low shot from outside the box that went in off the post.

Four minutes later, he crossed for Ismaila Sarr to head in a second for the visitors. Substitute Eddie Nketiah fired through Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno's legs to seal the win in the 75th.

Mateta returns

Another bonus for Palace was the return of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who played for the first time since a serious head injury required 25 stitches on a severely lacerated ear.

The forward was hospitalized after being kicked in the head by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts in the previous round of the FA Cup this month.

Wearing a protective covering on his ear, the French forward played for 70 minutes before being replaced by Nketiah.

Forest's season just gets better

Third in the Premier League and on course to qualify for next season's Champions League, Forest could yet end the campaign with silverware.

In a game of few chances in Brighton, Nuno Espirito Santo's high-flying team held its nerve in the shootout.

Successive saves from Sels denied Jack Hinshelwood and Diego Gomez.

Neco Williams also failed from the spot for Forest when firing over the bar, but it was down to captain Ryan Yates to convert the winning spot kick and spark celebrations from the traveling fans. "It was such a stressful moment and to share it with our fans, we are so happy," Santo said.

Forest hasn't won the FA Cup since 1959 and was last in the final in 1991. "We have to focus on the Premier League but it's going to be a beautiful moment (playing at Wembley) for all of us on our journey," Santo added.

Newcastle celebrates

Perhaps the biggest celebrations of the day were in Newcastle where it was estimated more than 150,000 turned out for an open-top bus parade of the English League Cup.

Newcastle ended the club's 70-year wait for a domestic trophy after beating Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley this month. But supporters had another wait for the official celebration, almost two weeks later.(AP)