Villa stun Liverpool, reach FA Cup final

London - Fabian Delph destroyed Steven Gerrard's hopes of a fairytale Liverpool send-off by scoring the winner as Aston Villa reached the FA Cup final with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.

Liverpool captain Gerrard, who turns 35 on the day of the final, had hoped to bring down the curtain on his Anfield career with a third FA Cup winner's medal, but instead it is Tim Sherwood's Villa who will tackle holders Arsenal on May 30.

Philippe Coutinho gave Liverpool the lead at Wembley with a deflected finish in the 30th minute, but in-form Villa striker Christian Benteke equalised six minutes later before Delph snaffled a 54th-minute winner.