Marco Asensio’s Brace Sends Aston Villa Into FA Cup Quarter-Finals

Aston Villa marched into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City, courtesy of Marco Asensio’s second-half double.

The Championship side put up a resilient fight, frustrating Villa for over an hour, with goalkeeper Ethan Horvath making a string of key saves. But Villa’s persistence paid off in the 68th minute when Marcus Rashford, still searching for his first goal in claret and blue, set up Asensio for the breakthrough. The Spanish forward then sealed the win in the 80th minute, calmly slotting home his second of the night.

Cardiff, sitting 19th in the Championship, gave a spirited performance and felt aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty when Perry Ng went down in the box just before halftime. However, Villa’s dominance ultimately proved too much, with Ollie Watkins and Rashford both missing golden opportunities before Asensio stepped up.

After suffering a humbling 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier in the week, Unai Emery’s side got the job done, shifting focus to Sunday’s FA Cup draw, where they’ll learn their next opponent. Meanwhile, Cardiff will turn their attention back to securing Championship survival.