Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News 
Aston Villa booked their place within the FA Cup semi-finals for the primary time in a decade with a 3-0 win over Preston at Deepdale.
Marcus Rashford struck twice earlier than Jacob Ramsey added a 3rd to spherical off a snug afternoon for Unai Emery’s facet.
The primary half was a decent affair, with Villa dominating possession however struggling to carve out clear-cut probabilities. Preston, unbeaten of their final 15 residence matches in all competitions, pressed effectively to disrupt the guests’ attacking rhythm.
The very best likelihood of the opening interval fell to Preston, as Mads Frokjaer-Jensen headed the ball again throughout aim to Stefan Thordarson, who didn’t direct his header on course.
Villa’s largest risk got here via Lucas Digne, whose deliveries from the left prompted issues, although Rashford and firm had been unable to capitalise.
The sport opened up after the restart, and Villa shortly took management. The breakthrough arrived within the 58th minute when Digne discovered area on the left and delivered a pinpoint cross to Rashford, who slotted residence for his first aim since becoming a member of the membership on mortgage.
Simply minutes later, Villa had been awarded a penalty after Morgan Rogers was caught contained in the field by Andrew Hughes. Rashford stepped up and dispatched his spot-kick, sending Preston goalkeeper Dai Cornell the improper strategy to double Villa’s benefit.
See you there, Villans 🫡 pic.twitter.com/JMFUdv6Msg
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 30, 2025
With a snug lead, Villa maintained their dominance and added additional gloss to the scoreline within the 71st minute. Ramsey, who had been a vigorous presence all through the match, collected a throw-in, drove into the field, and completed to place the sport past doubt.
Preston had little left to supply in response, and Villa continued to push for a fourth aim, with substitute Ollie Watkins lacking two golden alternatives in fast succession. The ultimate minutes noticed a flurry of substitutions, however the end result was already determined as Villa noticed out the match comfortably.
Statistically, the gulf in school was evident. Villa registered an anticipated targets (xG) tally of three.54 in comparison with Preston’s 0.47. Rashford’s return to scoring kind was a serious constructive for Villa, whereas Digne’s creativity on the left proved instrumental in breaking down Preston’s defence.
The consequence sends Villa into their first FA Cup semi-final since 2015, the place they famously defeated Liverpool earlier than shedding to Arsenal within the closing. In the meantime, Preston will flip their consideration again to Championship motion as they face Derby County in midweek
