Marco Asensio scored twice to help Aston Villa cruise into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after beating Championship side Cardiff City 2-0 at Villa Park on Friday. (More Football News)
The hosts always looked in control but found visiting goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in fine form as he made a staggering seven saves to keep the Bluebirds in the contest.
In a game of attack versus defence, Villa struggled to break down Cardiff's stern defensive rearguard, with Asensio prodding a strike narrowly wide in the 17th minute.
Leon Bailey was the next player to test Horvath, stinging the palms of the American goalkeeper before Marcus Rashford spurned a glorious chance from inside the box soon after.
Unai Emery's side continued to probe after the break, with John McGinn and Rashford seeing strikes repelled once more by Horvath, but Cardiff's resistance was eventually broken.
After combining for both goals in Villa's 2-1 win over Chelsea in the Premier League, Rashford and Asensio linked up again to score the opener, with the Spaniard sweeping home the on-loan Manchester United forward's precise cross from inside the area.
Asensio then doubled his tally and Villa's lead 10 minutes from time, setting himself after being picked out Bailey before curling the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
It marked the midfielder's fourth goal since arriving on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in January, with Club Brugge up next for Villa in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Rashford resurgence continues
Rashford made it clear about his desire to take on a new challenge away from Old Trafford, and he has seemingly taken the opportunity presented to him by Emery and Villa and grasped it with both hands.
Since his Villa debut on 9 February, Rashford has created more chances in all competitions than any other Premier League player (13). All three of his assists for the Villans have been for goals scored by Asensio.
Indeed, Rashford also created six chances for Villa against Cardiff, equalling the most he has registered in any of his 426 matches for United (six vs Wigan Athletic in January 2024).
And the victory marked new ground for Villa, who have now reached an FA Cup quarter-final for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign, when they were eventual losing finalists against Arsenal.
