Both sides had chances in a lively opening 20 minutes, with Andreas Pereira seeing his driven effort flash past the post before Jefferson Lerma cracked the crossbar with a brilliant volley.

Palace midfielder Adam Wharton was also fortunate not to be sent for an early bath after flicking a boot at Rodrigo Muniz while already on a yellow card.

Fulham's potential sense of injustice was added to when the Eagles, specifically Eberechi Eze, hit it with a double sucker punch in the space of four minutes.

The England attacker, who scored his first international goal in midweek, cut in from the left and curled a stunning effort past Bernd Leno from the edge of the box in the 34th minute before turning provider for Ismaila Sarr t double the lead.

Eze was given far too much room to whip a cross towards the near post, where the Senegalese forward was on hand to stoop and head into the Fulham net. 

Marco Silva made several changes in the second half, but for all of his side's possession, it could not find a way back into the contest, with Calvin Bassey coming closest amid a goalmouth scramble.

Instead, it was two of Oliver Glasner's substitutes that sealed the win for Palace.

Daichi Kamada set Eddie Nketiah free down the left, and he stayed just onside before coolly finishing past Leno to confirm Palace's spot in the semi-final for a second time in four seasons as it continues to fly higher and higher in 2025 and chase a first major trophy.

Eze said he and his team-mates are confident Palace can win the FA Cup having already been to two finals in the past.

"We're confident in ourselves and we know what we can do, we know what we are capable of," he said.

"It's games like today where you show the mentality that will get you further in the tournament."

On his opener, Eze added: "It was an important goal. I'm happy to help the team and that's what I'm here for. We didn't start the best, it was difficult and there was a lot of defending but eventually we broke them down."

Palace boss Oliver Glasner was relieved his side got through a sticky opening to the game and was full of praise for Eze.

"Key number one was to survive the first 20 mins. We were really rusty after three weeks with no competitive game. We only had one training before this game with everyone coming back from the national team," the Austrian said.

"The structure wasn't good and everyone struggled. Key number two was Eberechi's goal. It's unbelievable – the individual quality. Then we have the confidence and in our structure waiting for the right moments.

"It's not fair to only talk about one player [Eze] because it was such a great team effort. In the second half there was a lot of pressure because if they scored one goal it would be a tight game again. It's a great group and everyone is here to help the team."

Fulham boss Silva was disappointed his side could not take advantage of a good start, or make its dominance of possession count.

"One game until 25 minutes of the match, we completely dominated and we had three or four dangerous moments around their goal," he said.

"We should have scored in those moments. You need to be ruthless and clinical. They are solid and compact.

"They set nine players around their box every single time and when we are able to create, we have to score. We didn't and we were not strong at both ends this afternoon."

Silva was convinced Palace midfielder Wharton should have seen red his kick out on Muniz.

He added: "It is a clear second yellow card, definitely. It would have a massive impact on the game but against us it is always more difficult to see.

"We have been unlucky in these types of situations and let's hope it will be balanced at the end of the season."