2018 FA Cup Final Score: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
Date: Saturday 19th May
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 87,647
Referee: Michael Oliver
Teams:
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill (C), Antonio Rudiger, Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Marcos Alonso, Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud
Manager: Antonio Conte
Goal Scorer/s: Hazard (pen) 22′
Manchester United
David de Gea, Antonio Valencia (C), Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard
Manager: Jose Mourinho
Goal Scorer/s: None
The 137th FA Cup Final
The 2018 FA Cup Final was the 137th final of the competition.
Wembley Stadium hosted the match contested between Chelsea and Manchester United on Saturday 19th May.
During the 2017/18 season Chelsea won 21 games in total, drawing seven times and losing on ten occasions to finish 5th in the Premier League. Manchester United ended up finishing 2nd in the Premier League having registered 25 wins, six draws and seven losses.
Chelsea’s run to the final saw them beat Norwich City in the third round, Newcastle United in round four and Hull City in the fifth round. They defeated Leicester City in round six and then beat Southampton in the semifinals.
Manchester United reached the final having defeated Derby in round three, Yeovil Town in the fourth round and Huddersfield Town in round five. They beat Brighton in the sixth round and were victorious against Tottenham Hotspur in the semis.
Match Report
After a slow start from both sides, a misplaced pass by Phil Jones handed Chelsea the game’s first opportunity, with Hazard romping clear to shoot low at David de Gea’s goal but the ball ricocheted off the Spaniard’s outstretched leg.
Chelsea tried to claim a penalty kick when Tiemoue Bakayoko went to ground following contact from Nemanja Matic although referee Michael Oliver was not interested and waved protests away.
Yet the Blues would soon have cause to claim another penalty and this time it was an easier decision for the referee to make.
Cesc Fabregas found the electrifying Hazard in space on the right and the Belgian raced clear into the box. He was just about to take a shot when United defender Jones slid in and sent him sprawling to the ground. Hazard took the spot kick himself and sent De Gea the wrong way to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.
Excluding shoot-outs, it was the first penalty to be scored in an FA Cup Final since Ruud van Nistelrooy’s strike against Millwall back in 2004.
United eventually grappled their way back into the match as Paul Pogba fired just wide with a long range effort. Moments later, Jones was given the chance to redeem himself when Ashley Young swung in a cross to the back post yet the English defender’s header missed the target.
Into the second half and Marcus Rashford crafted three chances to score an equaliser. But Rudiger blocked his first attempt and Chelsea’s keeper Thibaut Courtois punched away the other two efforts.
Alexis Sanchez thought he’d drawn the Red Devils level when he latched onto a loose ball after Courtois parried Jones’s header but the Chilean international was deemed offside.
Later in the match, Chelsea had a chance to kill the game off when their midfield engine N’Golo Kante played a pass in to Marcus Alonso, the defender took a touch but struck the ball straight at United keeper de Gea.
United pushed back as Pogba headed a corner delivery wide of the goal from six yards. The Red Devils had one final chance in added time when Valencia played in an inviting cross only for Matic to head over the crossbar.
The whistle blew and Chelsea captain Gary Cahill lifted the club’s eight FA cup trophy!
Facts
- Rather than a traditional 3pm start, the 5.15pm kick-off time was agreed after consultation with the Safety Advisory Group.
- Neil Swarbrick was named as the first video assistant referee (VAR) in FA Cup Final history.
- Chelsea became the first club to win the FA Cup, the Women’s FA Cup and the FA Youth Cup in the same season.
- It was the first time that Mourinho had lost a cup final in charge of an English team, after seven consecutive victories and the defeat sealed his third-ever full season without winning silverware.
- It was the first domestic trophy won by Conte. He’d lost the 2012 Coppa Italia Final with Juventus and the previous season’s 2017 FA Cup Final as Chelsea manager.
2018 FA Cup Results
Semi Final
Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham, Chelsea 2-0 Southampton
Sixth Round
Swansea City 0-3 Tottenham, Manchester United 2-0 Brighton, Wigan Athletic 0-2 Southampton, Leicester City 1-2 Chelsea
Fifth Round
Leicester City 1-0 Sheffield United, Chelsea 4-0 Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Swansea City, West Brom 1-2 Southampton, Brighton 3-1 Coventry City, Huddersfield Town 0-2 Manchester United, Rochdale 2-2 Tottenham, Wigan Athletic 1-0 Manchester City
Fourth Round
Yeovil Town 0-4 Manchester United, Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 Reading, Peterborough United 1-5 Leicester City, Huddersfield Town 1-1 Birmingham City, Notts County 1-1 Swansea City, MK Dons 0-1 Coventry City, Millwall 2-2 Rochdale, Southampton 1-0 Watford, Middlesbrough 0-1 Brighton, Wigan Athletic 2-0 West Ham, Hull City 2-1 Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United 1-0 Preston North End, Newport County 1-1 Tottenham, Liverpool 2-3 West Brom, Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle United, Cardiff City 0-2 Manchester City
Third Round
Liverpool 2-1 Everton, Manchester United 2-0 Derby County, Fleetwood Town 0-0 Leicester City, Middlesbrough 2-0 Sunderland, Ipswich Town 0-1 Sheffield United, Watford 3-0 Bristol City, Birmingham City 1-0 Burton Albion, Aston Villa 1-3 Peterborough United, Bournemouth 2-2 Wigan, Coventry City 2-1 Stoke City, Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Huddersfield Town, Yeovil Town 2-0 Bradford City, Brentford 0-1 Notts County, QPR 0-2 MK Dons, Exeter City 0-2 West Brom, Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Rochdale, Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Hull City, Cardiff City 0-0 Mansfield Town, Manchester City 4-1 Burnley, Wolves 0-0 Swansea City, Stevenage 0-0 Reading, Newcastle United 3-1 Luton Town, Millwall 4-1 Barnsley, Fulham 0-1 Southampton, Wycombe Wanderers 1-5 Preston North End, Carlisle United 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City 0-0 Chelsea, Newport County 2-1 Leeds United, Shrewsbury Town 0-0 West Ham, Tottenham 3-0 Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest 4-2 Arsenal, Brighton 2-1 Crystal Palace
