Aston Villa advanced to the quarter finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City on at Villa Park.
The home side controlled the first half but struggled to break down a resilient Cardiff defence, going into halftime with the score still level. Marco Asensio finally found the breakthrough in the 69th minute, drilling his shot past the outstretched Ethan Horvath to give Villa a deserved lead.
Asensio doubled Villa’s lead in the 80th minute, finishing the tie-off and seeing the home side progress to the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2014/15 season, when they reached the final.
As it happened
Aston Villa started on the front foot, controlling possession and looking to break down a well-organised Cardiff defence. Their first chance came in the eighth minute, when Marcus Rashford lined up a 35-yard free kick, forcing Horvath into a comfortable save.
Four minutes later, the home side carved out another chance, as Leon Bailey was played in down the right and surged forward. The winger laid it off to John McGinn, but his shot was comfortably gathered by Horvath.
Unai Emery’s men continued to dominate the early stages and should have taken the lead when Ollie Watkins was played through by Asensio. The striker found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper but could only watch as his effort rolled just past the righthand post.
Embed from Getty ImagesStuck deep in their own half for most of the first half, the away side finally broke free and began to grow into the game. However, in the 33rd minute, the home side had a golden opportunity to take the lead. Asensio was played down the right and set up Bailey, whose volleyed effort was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Horvath.
Cardiff had their first real chance in the 41st minute, when Anwar El Ghazi tried his luck from distance, but the winger failed to hit the target and trouble Emiliano Martínez. Minutes later, Watkins had another golden opportunity to put the home side ahead, but Horvath produced a brilliant save to keep the score level at the break.
The Premier League side picked up where they left off in the first half and created a great chance within the opening five minutes. Captain McGinn found space on the edge of the box and unleashed a shot, but Horvath reacted brilliantly, diving to his left at full stretch to keep Villa from taking the lead.
Minutes later, Rashford unleashed a powerful strike from distance, forcing another diving save from goalkeeper Horvath.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, in the 67th minute, Omer Riza’s side nearly took a shock lead. Perry Ng delivered a brilliant cross into the box, which substitute Yousef Salech met with a well-directed effort, but Villa goalkeeper Martínez reacted sharply to deny The Bluebirds.
Just a minute later, Villa finally broke the deadlock and found the goal they had been pushing for all night. Rashford was played in down the left, surged forward, and squared it to Asensio, who rifled his shot past Horvath to put the home side in front.
Villa sealed the victory in the 80th minute, as Asensio grabbed his second goal of the night. The Spaniard beat Horvath with a low strike that slipped under the Cardiff goalkeeper’s gloves, securing Villa’s place in the next round.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s a huge result for the hosts, who return to the quarter finals for the first time since 2015 after a decade of torrid FA Cup fortune. As for visiting Cardiff, their cup dream comes to a hard-fought end.
Both sides now shift their focus to their next fixtures. Emery’s men head to Belgium to take on Club Brugge in the Champions League, while the away side returns home for a Championship clash against Burnley.
The lineups
AVI: Martínez; Maatsen, Bogarde, Konsa, García; Tielemans, McGinn; Rashford, Asensio, Bailey; Watkins
CAR: Horvath; Lawlor, Goutas, Fish; Giles, Colwill, Ramsey, Ng; Willock, El Ghazi; Robinson