Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool: Delph stars as Villans end Steven Gerrard’s FA Cup dream
Fabian Delph scored one and set up another as Aston Villa stunned Liverpool to set up an FA Cup final showdown with Arsenal and spoil Steven Gerrard's fairytale birthday plans.
Villa dominated throughout but fell behind through Philippe Coutinho’s deflected strike after half an hour, but Christian Benteke equalised almost immediately with a crisp finish from Delph’s assist.
The England midfielder then provided the decisive moment, turning inside Dejan Lovren before firing past Simon Mignolet at the near post.
Tim Sherwood’s side nullified Liverpool’s push for an equaliser and the result meant Gerrard, who looked distinctly off the pace, will not finish his Liverpool career with a trophy.
Villa settled the quicker in their bid to reach a first FA Cup final since 2000, with 19-year-old Jack Grealish impressing with examples of composure far exceeding his tender age.
Simon Mignolet was the first goalkeeper called into action, tipping Charles N’Zogbia’s 20-yard-strike over the bar as Villa continued to look the more relaxed.
On the half hour mark, Coutinho and Liverpool struck against the run of play as the Brazilian collected a Raheem Sterling pass before dinking over the onrushing Shay Given via a deflection.
The Reds’ opener failed to deter Sherwood’s men and they were level almost immediately, as Grealish and Delph linked up promisingly to find Benteke, who side-footed past compatriot Mignolet for his ninth goal in seven games.
Lovren then steered a header wide but the scores remained level until half time, when Brendan Rodgers opted to introduce Mario Balotelli to provide a much-needed focal point in the Reds’ attack.
Delph was illustrating why he has become an England regular this season, and put Villa ahead ten minutes after the break by collecting Grealish’s reverse pass and firing in at the near post.
Gerrard had a late header agonisingly cleared off the line by Kieran Richardson, but Sherwood’s side deserved to reach May’s final in their attempt to win England's most prestigious domestic trophy for the first time since 1957.