There’s nothing quite like the FA Cup final. A staple on the British football calendar, the tradition of a day out at Wembley with millions of people watching is one that will always remain despite so much money being pumped into the modern game. The last few years have been hard on the average football fan due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this season was a reminder of how brilliant the English game can be.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea booked their places in the Wembley showpiece after dispatching Manchester City and Crystal Palace respectively. While the magic of the FA Cup isn’t quite what it used to be, with so many of the established ‘big six’ reaching the final every year, there is always the chance of an upset at the start of every season. Read on, as we look at the last three editions of the FA Cup final.
2021 – Leicester City 1-0 Chelsea
The romance of the FA Cup was on hand for all to see — well, perhaps the few lucky enough to get a ticket for the socially distanced Wembley crowd — as Leicester City once again upset the odds on the Betting exchange UK to win the FA Cup against Chelsea. The 2018 champions were clear favorites under Thomas Tuchel, but with a Champions League final on the horizon, and still yet to ensure a top four finish in the league, the Blues were offkey against Brendan Rodgers’ side, and a wonderful Youri Tielemans strike was enough to earn the Foxes a surprise victory.
Ben Chilwell, who had signed from Leicester that summer, thought he drew his side level in the dying embers but VAR ruled it out and Leicester held on to bring the trophy back to the East Midlands.
2020 – Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
In a match that was overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic, the delayed 2020 FA Cup final was certainly an interesting one. Arsenal had been on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing the last time they faced Chelsea in a major tournament final, but the Gunners, with Mikel Arteta in the dugout 12 months on instead of Unai Emery, had clearly learnt a lot from that horrid Europa League trip to Baku, and won their first piece of silverware since
Trouble looked to be brewing when Christian Pulisic put his side ahead early on, but the Gunners showed the resilience they had lacked before the lockdown, coming from behind courtesy of two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a penalty and a composed finish, to win 2-1 and ensure a 14th FA Cup win for the North London side.
2019- Manchester City 6-0 Watford
Manchester City completed the domestic treble, quadruple if you’re counting the Community Shield, with a dominant display against Watford for the 2019 FA Cup final. The result all but seemed like a foregone conclusion judging by form alone, with City winning all of their last 13 league games to ensure they retained the Premier League title ahead of Liverpool.
The Hornets barely had a sniff and the game was over by the hour mark when City went 3-0 up. Kevin De Bruyne was on fire in the middle of the park and was rightly given man of the match whilst Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus both grabbed a brace. It was to be the last game for Vincent Kompany who lifted yet another trophy for Pep Guardiola, although his side haven’t been in the final since.
