Aston Villa booked their place in the FA Cup semi-final for the first time in ten years with a 3-0 win over Preston in Deepdale.
Marcus Rashford struck twice before Jacob Ramsey added a third to complete a comfortable afternoon in front of the Unai Emery side.
The first half was a tight affair, with villa that dominated the property but struggled to make clear opportunities. Preston, undefeated in their last 15 home games in all matches, put under pressure to disturb the attacking rhythm of the visitors.
The best chance of the opening period was on Preston, when Mads Frokjaer-Jensen led the ball over the goal to Stefan Thordarson, who had not focused his header on goal.
Villa’s greatest threat was due to Lucas Digne, whose deliveries caused problems, although Rashford and Company were unable to capitalize.
The match started after the restart and Villa quickly took control. The breakthrough arrived in the 58th minute when Digne found space on the left and delivered a pinpoint cross to Rashford, who went home for his first goal since he got on loan at the club.
Only a few minutes later Villa received a penalty after Morgan Rogers was caught in the box by Andrew Hughes. Rashford stepped up and sent his spot kick and sent Preston goalkeeper Dai Cornell the wrong way to double the benefit of Villa.
See you soon, Villans 🫡 pic.twitter.com/jmfudv6msg
– Aston Villa (@AVFCofficial) March 30, 2025
With a comfortable lead, Villa kept their dominance and added the further shine to the score in the 71st minute. Ramsey, who had been a lively presence during the game, collected a slaughter, drove in the box and ended up to put the game without a doubt.
Preston had little to offer and Villa continued to insist on a fourth goal, in which replacement Ollie Watkins quickly missed two golden chances in succession. The last minutes were a flurry of replacements, but the outcome was already decided when Villa saw the match comfortably.
Statistically, the Golf in the class was clear. Villa registered an expected goals (XG) of 3.54 compared to the 0.47 of Preston. The return from Rashford to the scoring of the form was a great positive for Villa, while Digne’s creativity on the left instrumental proved to be demolished in breaking the defense of Preston.
Villa has been sending the result to their first FA Cup semi -final since 2015, where they defeated Liverpool famous before they lost Arsenal in the final. In the meantime, Preston will again focus their attention on the championship campaign while confronted with Derby County in the midweek
