Eberechi Eze smashed home a shot from the edge of the area in the 31st minute for the opening goal after good work from Ismaila Sa, who then finished Villa off with two second-half goals.

“What a strike that is – 23 yards out and into the roof of the net,” said former England striker Alan Shearer. “What a finish. That finish is exceptional.”

Palace manager Oliver Glasner said it was the kind of goal that his players had practised many times.

“They are always finishing from the edge of the box in training. The first goal was about winning the ball. As he has showed many times in training, a great finish by Eze.”

Sa scored in the 58th and again in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal a convincing win over opponents who had reached the Champions League quarter-finals this season.

Villa, seven-times FA Cup winners, were eliminated from Europe by Paris Saint-Germain last week and now have just a top-five finish in the Premier League to play for as they look to secure a return to the Champions League. They currently lie seventh in the league.

It could have been a bigger margin of victory for Palace, with Jean-Philippe Mateta missing a penalty in the 53rd.

“It was a very intense game, not just for the players, but also for us! Our players had to work so hard, being so concentrated and focused, not giving Aston Villa chances and also always playing forward in the right moments and creating chances,” Glasner said.

“Other than that little bit of momentum after the penalty, it felt like the most complete performance, controlling, defensively strong, attacking on the counter-attack and when we had the ball in possession.”

Palace, who’ve never won a major trophy, will meet either Manchester City or Nottingham Forest in the final. They meet on Sunday, also at Wembley.

with AAP