Manchester City ended their FA Cup final hoodoo by defeating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley thanks to a spectacular goal from Antonio Semenyo. It is their second trophy of the 2025-26 season with Pep Guardiola's men standing on the cusp of winning a domestic treble if they manage to win the Premier League by displacing leaders Arsenal. For Chelsea, they have to contain with a trophyless season and presumably no European football as winning the FA Cup would have guaranteed them a place in the Europa League. Despite City having a slight domination statistics wise, the Blues made a good account of themselves but it wasn't enough at the end.
The first half was a cagey affair with Chelsea defending deep and City hoping to open them with their sprawling attack from the flanks. The London club though asked a lot of question on the counter with Joao Pedro giving Abdukodir Khusanov a few problems including a penalty call towards the end of first half which the official refused. They might also call them lucky that they didn't go down to 10 men with Enzo Fernandez not warranting more than a yellow card with a heavy challenge on Bernardo Silva. Despite both sides having their period of control, both entered the tunnel goalless at halftime.
However, the picture changed in the second half. City bringing Ryan Cherki on gave them more intensity in attack with him almost providing instant impact with his line-breaking pass finding left-back, Nico O' Reilly whose cross was headed over from close range by Semenyo minutes after restart. However, his disappointment didn't last long as after sustained Chelsea pressure, City scored in the critical moment with Cherki playing exchange of passes with Erling Haaland with the latter picking up Antonio Semenyo inside the box with a cut back. The Ghanian scored with an outrageous piece of skill with a back-heel finish in the 71st minute.
Chelsea could have struck right after but Enzo Fernandez flick from a long throw which surprised City keeper James Trafford but it landed on the roof of the net. The Blues kept pushing with Neto then testing Trafford. However, Guardiola's men regained control with Chelsea thanking Robert Sanchez to keep them in the play. He first denied Matheu Nunes with the help of the post and then parried Ryan Cherki's stinging shot from close range. However, City didn't had to rue those misses as they see out the game to clinch the silverware.
Glory at last
After losing back-to-back FA Cup finals to Manchester United and Crystal Palace, Manchester City finally got over the line this season with this narrow win over manager less Chelsea. Guardiola's side already made history by becoming the first team to entering fourth straight FA Cup final and they would be happy it ended with smiles at the end. This triumph also means the club has clinched the FA Cup for the eighth time, the third most by any side in history. It was the third one they won under their Spanish manager in five finals who have guided them to a 19th honor now and they hope it's probably not his last with speculations around his future growing.
Cup double
This is the sixth time a team has won both the FA Cup and EFL Cup in the same season, after Arsenal in 1992-93, Liverpool in both 2000-01 and 2021-22, Chelsea in 2006-07 and City themselves in 2018-19. Their first honor this season came in the form of the League Cup victory in the very stadium with a 2-0 victory in March this year. Both goals was scored by O' Reilly on that occasion against Arsenal, starting as the underdogs in that clash, with the strikes coming in the second half back then as well. This Cup double now makes it the 16th victory Guardiola managed at Wembley and a 11th cup triumph apart from his European Cup victory he had as a player back in 1992.
Fixture domination
Since losing the 2020-21 Champions League final to Chelsea, City have not lost any of their last 14 games against the Blues in all competitions. They have managed 11 victories and three draws in that period. Now, he came up top in the first FA Cup final meeting with Chelsea after winning the last two meetings in the competition, also not conceding in those occasions. They have scored 26 goals in the period while letting in just seven goals showing their unreal dominance in this fixture.
First from his nation
Of all the national teams that has scored in the FA Cup final, Semenyo became the first player from Ghana to net in the showpiece. He is the fifth African player to score in the FA Cup final and probably scored the best goal out of them. The excellent backheel that mesmerized City fans was just the tip of the iceberg of the excellent performance the winter signing from Bournemouth produced. The 26-year-old had the most touches in the opposition box with nine and also took the most shots in the game with five. Additionally, the galvanising winger produced three passes into the final third and became a handful for Marc Cucurella and Jorrel Hato to defend against on his flank.
Flourish at last
It also a occasion for the provider Erling Haaland to be happy about as it was his first goal involvement at Wembley. This was the ninth game under the iconic arch and sixth cup final win but this is the first time he has truly contributed.
In fact, it is his first goal involvement in a final game for City. A striking fact considering the Norwegian joined the club in the summer of 2022 and contributed over 189 goals in 197 appearances since.
