Chelsea and Man City chase redemption in FA Cup final showdown

Chelsea and Manchester City meet in the FA Cup final this afternoon with both teams out to right Wembley wrongs.

For Manchester City, the fixture marks a record-breaking fourth consecutive FA Cup final, though the Cityzens have been beaten on their last two visits to the showpiece.

Pep Guardiola’s side lost to Crystal Palace in an upset last season, after also losing to Manchester United in 2024.

Only one team has ever lost three consecutive FA Cup finals; Chelsea. The West Londoners lost three straight showpieces between 2020 and 2022, part of a poor recent record in domestic cup finals. Chelsea have lost six successive domestic cup finals, having also been beaten in the 2019, 2022 and 2024 Carabao Cup finals.

Chelsea’s last win in a major domestic cup final was the club’s 2017/18 FA Cup win, under Antonio Conte.

The two teams have met in three previous cup finals, though today’s game will be their first in opposition as FA Cup finalists.

Chelsea beat Manchester City 5-4 in the 1986 Full Members’ Cup final, with David Speedie hitting a hat-trick at Wembley.

Manchester City triumphed in the only major domestic cup final between the teams after a penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the 2019 League Cup final.

The fixture famously saw Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refuse to be substituted for former Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero ahead of the shootout.

The only other Wembley meeting came in the 2018 Community Shield, where a Sergio Aguero brace earned Manchester City a 2-0 win.

Chelsea and Manchester City also famously met in the 2021 Champions League final. Kai Havertz scored the decisive goal in Porto to crown Chelsea as European champions for the second time.

Incredibly, that win was the last time Chelsea beat Manchester City, having gone winless against Pep Guardiola’s side in 13 games across all competitions, losing 10.