Marcus Rashford. Wow, he can really play football! Now, let’s not get into the reasons why is he playing excellent in Aston Villa instead of Manchester United because the reasons are various. Maybe he has been too long in the club which failed to do anything, maybe Ruben Amorim’s tactics doesn’t suit him, maybe a classy manager like Unai Emery can get the best out of him, but whatever reason, he is playing excellent now while on loan at Villa. Since the beginning of the season, he scored five goals for Manchester and two assists while with Aston Villa he scored four goals and added six assists in the space of just two months (arrived at the end of January, made his debut in February). In fact not only did he played excellent, but he even managed to bench Ollie Watkins, the undisputed number one striker under Emery.Wembley awaits 🤩But only one of them can progress to the #EmiratesFACup Final… who will it be? 🏆🎨 @FDsigns_ pic.twitter.com/WgQ3CNPGN7— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) April 26, 2025 The England international was fuming after not starting against PSG in the Champions League and used his anger to be the man of the match in a 4-1 win over Newcastle, but Rashford is playing so good that the Spanish coach still plans to use him before Watkins, including today’s FA Cup semi-final duel with Crystal Palace.“You always need two strikers and being versatile is better. Rashford is versatile. I want to have players like these two as we try to get to the level we want. I like to have players in the squad at the level those two have shown us. My job is to share the playing time between both, manage the person as well as the professional, as well as the tactical idea and my selection for each match. I want to have the same selection problems I have had in the last matches we have played. Some players will be on the bench but they are very important and they have showed it this season by making an impact. That’s what I want. I had more problems when I didn’t have enough players to play at the level I wanted. Now I have enough to compete at this level and we can see the difference between how we are now and how we were six months ago” said the Villa boss.27 – Since his Aston Villa debut in February, only Bruno Fernandes (40) has created more chances in all competitions among Premier League players than Marcus Rashford (27), while no player has more assists than he does (5). Flourishing. pic.twitter.com/6xDU3xKMyF— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 16, 2025 The Eagles from Selhurst Park are planning to keep soaring high — at least when it comes to the oldest football competition. History shows that in their 120-year existence, Crystal Palace has reached the semi-finals just six times, meaning they achieve that feat roughly once every 20 years. As for winning the trophy — it’s still a dream; they’ve never lifted it. Manager Oliver Glasner is determined to turn what has already been a very good season into a historic one.”This is a very important, crucial match for us. Carlo Ancelotti often says you win trophies in April and May, not November. And who better to say that than Ancelotti himself? You need your players firing on all cylinders at this stage. Okay, we’re 12th in the league. That’s fine, but no one is thrilled with that. Still, here we are in the semi-final. Up to now, we’ve had a good season. Now we have a chance to turn a good season into a great one. That’s what excites me — not turning a bad season into an average one, but an average one into a good one. That’s our goal over the next five weeks,” Glasner concluded” said Glasner.FA CUPSemifinalsSaturday19:15: (3.40) Crystal Palace (3.50) Aston Villa (2.20)Sunday18:30: (4.90) Nott.Forest (3.85) Man.City (1.75)***odds are subject to change***
