Chelsea 0 – 1 Man City
Antoine Semenyo’s sublime flick took Man City to a 1-0 FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea at Wembley.
The winger has been a revelation since joining in January for £64m from Bournemouth and his 10th goal in City colours was a special one on the big stage. Erling Haaland crossed low into the box and Semenyo, holding off Levi Colwill, glanced the ball inside the far corner with a clip of his right heel.
Antoine Semenyo opens the scoring in the FA Cup final with a deft back-heel flick
City had been in need of some inspiration to open up a dogged Chelsea defence and Semenyo provided it. After losing back-to-back FA Cup finals, they are champions again, completing a double of the domestic cups after their Carabao Cup success in March. That’s 20 major trophies for Pep Guardiola now at City.
Chelsea had earlier seen a goal-bound Moises Caicedo header cleared away by Rodri and Enzo Fernandez flicked onto the roof of the net as they sought an equaliser. But for all their efforts to limit City, this was a fifth-straight Wembley final without a goal. Former City academy star Cole Palmer spent much of the game working back to stop Jeremy Doku and was unable to provide the spark at the other end.
As well as missing out on the trophy, Chelsea also miss out on a Europa League place which would have come with it – a prize they look unlikely to achieve with a top-seven finish in the Premier League. Overhauling a two-point gap on Brentford for eighth and the Conference League remains their only objective in their final two Premier League games of a frustrating season.
Enzo Fernandez was booked for this tackle on Bernardo Silva
Ultimately, this was a task too big for Chelsea and interim boss Calum McFarlane. City finished strongly, with a Matheus Nunes shot pushed onto the post by Robert Sanchez and a Rayan Cherki blast well stopped by the keeper. They have delivered at the business end of this season, too.
An Arsenal slip-up is required to add an unlikely Premier League title to this season’s trophy collection but City enjoyed these celebrations. Guardiola – who joked pre-match about having a stand named after him at Wembley – has delivered again.
More to follow…
What’s coming up?
Chelsea now face Tottenham at home on Tuesday in a 8.15pm kick-off before completing their Premier League campaign at Sunderland on the final day, Sunday, May 24 at 4pm.
Man City are also in action on Tuesday, going to Bournemouth for a 7.30pm kick-off before concluding their season at home to Aston Villa on May 24, also in a 4pm kick-off.
