Swiss Euro opponents Italy ‘hate to lose’, says Aebischer

LONDON: Eberechi Eze inspired Crystal Palace to a 3-0 FA Cup quarterfinal win at Fulham on Saturday with a goal and assist in a four-minute period in the first half.

Fresh from scoring his first England goal against Latvia on Monday, Eze broke the deadlock with a stunning strike from outside the box.

He then turned provider for Ismaila Sarr to rapidly double Palace’s lead and Eddie Nketiah added more gloss to the scoreline as a second-half substitute.

After a difficult start to the season, Palace are one of England’s form teams as Oliver Glasner’s men have also marched up the Premier League table to 12th in recent months.

The Eagles have won their last six away games, including another 2-0 win at Craven Cottage last month, and will believe they can go on to win the FA Cup for the first time.

Palace were able to welcome back French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta for the first time since he needed 25 stitches in an ear wound suffered in his side’s fifth round win over Millwall four weeks ago.

But it was Eze who was Palace’s match winner with two decisive moments in a matter of minutes.

The 26-year-old cut inside on his favored right foot to curl in off the far post to open the scoring on 34 minutes.

Eze then jinked past Sander Berge and showed his ability on either foot with this time an inch-perfect left-footed cross for Sarr to head in at the near post.

Fulham are four places and six points above Palace in the Premier League and will now turn their focus to trying to qualify for the Champions League for the first time by finishing in the top five.

However, their dreams of Wembley were extinguished 15 minutes from time.

Eddie Nketiah had only been on the field a few minutes as Mateta’s replacement and produced a composed finish under his former Arsenal team-mate Bernd Leno for a third goal in four games.

City are the favorites for the competition but face a tough trip to Bournemouth on Sunday.

After a disappointing season that has fallen well short of their usual standards, the FA Cup is City’s final shot at winning a trophy.

Aston Villa visit second-tier Preston hoping to remain on course for their first trophy since 1996 in Sunday’s early kick-off.

MUNICH: Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen doubled down on his criticism of Canada Soccer on Saturday, saying their handling of Alphonso Davies’ injury was “astonishing.”
The German giants had threatened legal action after Davies returned from the international break with a torn anterior cruciate ligament this week.
Canada Soccer initially gave the 24-year-old the all-clear after he went off injured in his side’s 2-1 CONCACAF Nations League play-off win over the USA in California.
But an examination in Munich revealed he had torn his ACL, ruling him out for at least six months and prompting Dreesen to accuse the Canadian federation of “gross negligence” in an interview with tabloid Bild.
Speaking to reporters after Bayern’s 3-2 win over St. Pauli on Saturday, Dreesen said Bayern were in touch with Canada Soccer and would write to them next week demanding an explanation.
“It can’t be that you put a player on a flight without a bandage on his knee and not notice that he has torn his ACL,” said Dreesen.
“It can’t be that you don’t send a scan, when Los Angeles has, I think, the highest density of MRT facilities per capita of anywhere in North America. I find that astonishing,” he added.
In a statement to The Athletic on Friday, Canada Soccer spokesman Paulo Senra defended the federation’s handling of the injury.
“Medical documentation confirms that proper care protocols were followed, and communication records show that our medical staff provided updates to Bayern Munich throughout the entire tournament,” he said.
Yet Dreesen appeared to dismiss this on Saturday.
“They told us he had got a kick in the sixth minute. But I could see that much on TV, that wasn’t very surprising information,” he said.
The Bayern CEO added that the club were considering their next steps.
“What we do next depends on the answers we get to our questions,” he said.
Davies is part of a wider wave of injuries which has ravaged Bayern’s defense in recent weeks.
Manuel Neuer is still yet to return after tearing his calf while celebrating in a Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen last month.
Bayern have also lost center-back Dayot Upamecano to a leg injury, while fellow defender Hiroki Ito had to leave the pitch during Saturday’s win.