2017 FA Cup Final Score: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
Date: Saturday 27th May
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 89,472
Referee: Antony Taylor
Teams:
Arsenal
David Ospina, Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker (C), Nacho Monreal, Hector Bellerin, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck
Manager: Arsene Wenger
Goal Scorer/s: Sanchez 4′ and Ramsey 79′
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois, Gary Cahill (c), David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Victor Moses, N’Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic, Marcos Alonso, Eden Hazard, Pedro, Diego Costa
Manager: Antonio Conte
Goal Scorer/s: Costa 76’
The 136th FA Cup Final
The 2017 FA Cup Final was the 136th final of the competition.
Wembley Stadium hosted the match contested between Arsenal and Chelsea on Saturday 27th May.
During the 2016/17 season Arsenal won 23 games in total, drawing six times and losing on nine occasions to finish 5th in the Premier League. Chelsea ended up finishing 1st in the Premier League having registered 30 wins, three draws and five losses.
Arsenal’s run to the final saw them beat Preston North End in the third round, Southampton in round four and Sutton United in the fifth round. They defeated Lincoln City in round six and then beat Manchester City in the semi-finals.
Chelsea reached the final having defeated Peterborough United in round three, Brentford in the fourth round and Wolverhampton Wanderers in round five. They beat Manchester United in the sixth round and were victorious against Tottenham Hotspur in the semis.
Match Report
Sanchez gave Arsenal the lead when he played the ball into the box, the Chelsea defence stood waiting for Ramsey to be called offside but the midfielder did not move to the ball. The Chilean was quickest to react, speeding into the box before powering a half-volley beyond Courtois.
Costa came closest for Chelsea in the early stages, taking a snap-shot that was blocked by the sturdy Rob Holding and then later another of his chances was smothered by Arsenal keeper David Ospina.
Winger Pedro had a clear sight of goal six minutes before halftime but saw his shot fly over the crossbar with only the goalie to beat.
Into the second half and the Gunners began to purr. Following a driving run from Danny Welbeck, the ball broke to wing-back Hector Bellerin in space on the edge of Chelsea’s penalty area but the Spainard’s effort was superbly blocked by Courtois.
With around a quarter of the game to play, Victor Moses received a second yellow card from referee Anthony Taylor who felt the Nigerian was attempting to deceive him by appealing for a penalty through simulation.
Just eight minutes later and ten-man Chelsea equalised. Striker Diego Costa controlled the ball on his chest and skillfully moved away from Holding before unleashing a half-volley into the ground that bounced up and beyond Ospina’s reach.
Yet no sooner had Chelsea finished celebrating did Arsenal regain their lead. Substitute and Target man Olivier Giroud skillfully wrapped his foot around the ball and provided a left-footed cross into the box. Aaron Ramsey ran from deep and arrived unmarked to head home unchallenged.
With four minutes remaining Costa drove into the penalty area yet his volleyed effort was fantastically parried away by Ospina. Referee Taylor blew the final whistle and with it the Gunners had won the FA cup for a third time in four years!
Facts
- Arsenal were appearing in the FA Cup final for the 20th time and a third time in four years.
- They had won the cup twelve times and were beaten finalists a further seven times.
- Chelsea were making their 12th appearance in an FA Cup final having won the trophy seven times and losing four finals.
- The clubs had previously met 13 times in the FA Cup. Arsenal held an advantage overall in those meetings by winning seven of the last eight. Yet Chelsea won the last FA Cup tie – a 2–1 victory in April 2009.
- This was the second FA Cup final to feature both sides. The first was won by Arsenal in 2002.
2017 FA Cup Results
Semi Final
Chelsea 4–2 Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal 2–1 (a.e.t.) Manchester City
Sixth Round
Middlesbrough 0–2 Manchester City, Arsenal 5–0 Lincoln City, Tottenham Hotspur 6–0 Millwall, Chelsea 1–0 Manchester United
Fifth Round
Burnley 0–1 Lincoln City, Middlesbrough 3–2 Oxford United, Huddersfield Town 0–0 Manchester City, Replay Manchester City 5–1 Huddersfield Town, Millwall 1–0 Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–2 Chelsea, Fulham 0–3 Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers 1–2 Manchester United, Sutton United 0–2 Arsenal
Fourth Round
Derby County 2–2 Leicester City, Replay Leicester City 3–1 (a.e.t.) Derby County, Liverpool 1–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur 4–3 Wycombe Wanderers, Oxford United 3–0 Newcastle United, Lincoln City 3–1 Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea 4–0 Brentford, Rochdale 0–4 Huddersfield Town, Burnley 2–0 Bristol City,Blackburn Rovers 2–0 Blackpool, Middlesbrough 1–0 Accrington Stanley, Crystal Palace 0–3 Manchester City, Southampton 0–5 Arsenal, Millwall 1–0 Watford, Fulham 4–1 Hull City, Sutton United 1–0 Leeds United, Manchester United 4–0 Wigan Athletic
Third Round
West Ham United 0–5 Manchester City, Manchester United 4–0 Reading, Ipswich Town 2–2 Lincoln City, Replay Lincoln City 1–0 Ipswich Town, Barrow 0–2 Rochdale, Hull City 2–0 Swansea City, Sunderland 0–0 Burnley, Replay Burnley 2–0 Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers 1–2 Blackburn Rovers, Millwall 3–0 Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion 2–0 Milton Keynes Dons, Blackpool 0–0 Barnsley, Replay Barnsley 1–2 (a.e.t.) Blackpool, Wigan Athletic 2–0 Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City 1–1 Newcastle United, Replay Newcastle United 3–1 Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion 1–2 Derby County, Everton 1–2 Leicester City, Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 Stourbridge, Watford 2–0 Burton Albion, Stoke City 0–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bristol City 0–0 Fleetwood Town, Replay Fleetwood Town 0–1 Bristol City, Huddersfield Town 4–0 Port Vale, Brentford 5–1 Eastleigh , Bolton Wanderers 0–0 Crystal Palace, Replay Crystal Palace 2–1 Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City 2–2 Southampton, Replay Southampton 1–0 Norwich City, Sutton United 0–0 AFC Wimbledon, Replay AFC Wimbledon 1–3 Sutton United, Accrington Stanley 2–1 Luton Town, Rotherham United 2–3 Oxford United, Preston North End 1–2 Arsenal, Cardiff City 1–2 Fulham, Liverpool 0–0 Plymouth Argyle, Replay Plymouth Argyle 0–1 Liverpool, Chelsea 4–1 Peterborough United, Middlesbrough 3–0 Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 Aston Villa, Cambridge United 1–2 Leeds United
