Eberechi Eze scored and assisted in a four-minute first-half stretch on Saturday, leading Crystal Palace to a 3-0 FA Cup quarterfinal victory against Fulham.
Eze, who had just scored his first goal for England against Latvia on Monday, broke the tie with an incredible off-the-box goal.
Ismaila Sarr quickly doubled Palace’s lead after he turned provider, and Eddie Nketiah, who came on as a second-half substitute, added even more glitz to the score.
Following a challenging start to the season, Palace are among England’s best teams, as Oliver Glasner’s club has risen to 12th place in the Premier League table in recent months.
The Eagles are certain they can win the FA Cup for the first time after winning their last six away games, including a 2-0 victory at Craven Cottage last month.
French forward Jean-Philippe Mateta was able to return to Palace for the first time since he required twenty-five stitches to repair an ear wound sustained during his team’s victory over Millwall in the fifth round four weeks ago.
But in only a few minutes, Eze had two pivotal moments that sealed Palace’s victory.
At 34 minutes, the 26-year-old opened the scoring by curling in off the far post after cutting inside on his preferred right foot.
Then, Eze ducked past Sander Berge and showed his versatility by sending Sarr in at the near post with an inch-perfect left-footed cross.
With six points and four spots ahead of Palace in the Premier League, Fulham will now concentrate on attempting to make it into the Champions League for the first time by placing in the top five.
However, fifteen minutes before time, their hopes of seeing Wembley were dashed.
After playing just a few minutes as Mateta’s substitute, Eddie Nketiah scored his third goal in four games with a calm finish beneath former Arsenal teammate Bernd Leno.
The other quarterfinal matchup is between Brighton and Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Brighton has won six of their past seven games and drawn one, 2-2 away to Manchester City, after Forest crushed the Seagulls 7-0 last month.
Despite being the competition favourites, City will have a difficult trip to Bournemouth on Sunday.
The FA Cup is City’s last chance to win a trophy following a dismal season in which they have fallen far short of their typical standards.
In Sunday’s early kickoff, Aston Villa travels to second-tier Preston in an attempt to stay on track for their first title since 1996.
