2015-16 FA Cup · The Final
2016 FA Cup Final: Manchester United 2-1 Crystal Palace
Manchester United won the cup, sacked the manager who delivered it, and the European place the trophy carried was handed down to two other clubs because United had already qualified through the league.
Crystal Palace led the 2016 FA Cup final with just over ten minutes of normal time remaining, but Manchester United came from behind to win 2-1 after extra time and equal Arsenal's record of 12 FA Cups. Louis van Gaal lifted his only trophy as United manager; two days later he was sacked.
Saturday 21 May 2016 · Wembley Stadium
What you will not find elsewhere
Manchester United's FA Cup win gave the Europa League group stage to Southampton and a qualifying place to West Ham
Because Manchester United had already qualified for the Europa League by finishing fifth in the Premier League, the cup winners' place was reassigned. The Premier League explained the permutations before the final: if United won the FA Cup, sixth-placed Southampton would enter the group stage and seventh-placed West Ham would enter the third qualifying round. That is exactly what happened. The Football Association's match report records United winning the cup; Sky Sports and ESPN both record the outcome for Southampton and West Ham. The UEFA access list for 2016-17 shows England's places as cup winners, fifth place and sixth place, which is why United's double qualification created the cascade.[11][9][10][12]
Louis van Gaal was sacked two days after winning the FA Cup, not at the end of the league season
The popular memory is that Van Gaal's fate was sealed before Wembley and that Jose Mourinho was waiting to replace him. The timeline is more precise. Manchester United announced Van Gaal's sacking on the evening of 23 May 2016, the Monday after the final. Mourinho's appointment was confirmed on 27 May, four days after the match and two days after Van Gaal had already left. Van Gaal's own statement called the FA Cup win one of the most special achievements of his career; it was also his last match in charge.[7][8][3]
Mark Clattenburg later admitted he made errors in this final
In January 2017 Clattenburg told the Irish Examiner that he came off the FA Cup final disappointed and felt he could have done better. He identified the failure to play advantage for Connor Wickham's disallowed goal as the key error. By then he had also refereed the Champions League final and the European Championship final in the same year, and had been named referee of the year at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai.[13][2][3]
The footage
The match report
The 135th FA Cup final was the first to be played under the Emirates sponsorship name, and it paired Manchester United with the same club they had beaten in the 1990 final. Crystal Palace were appearing in their second final, both against United, while United were in their first final since losing to Chelsea at the new Wembley in 2007. Kick-off was scheduled for 5:30pm but was slightly delayed after the pre-match entertainment overran.[3][1]
The first half was goalless but not uneventful. Wayne Rooney, playing in central midfield, saw a deflected long-range shot held by Wayne Hennessey at the second attempt after the goalkeeper had fumbled. The major controversy came on 17 minutes, when Chris Smalling fouled Connor Wickham on the edge of the area. Wickham got to his feet and scored, but Mark Clattenburg had already blown for the foul and disallowed the goal; Smalling was booked. Juan Mata and Yannick Bolasie also tested the goalkeepers before the interval.[1][3]
Manchester United began the second half on top and were denied by the woodwork twice in eight minutes. On 52 minutes Marouane Fellaini flicked a Rashford pass against the near post, and on 61 minutes Anthony Martial headed Antonio Valencia's clipped cross against the other upright. Marcos Rojo went off injured before the hour and was replaced by Matteo Darmian. Crystal Palace had offered little until Alan Pardew sent on Jason Puncheon, and with just over ten minutes remaining Puncheon controlled Joel Ward's high pass on the left and thrashed a half-volley past David de Gea.[1][3]
The lead lasted only three minutes. Wayne Rooney carried the ball from left to right, crossed to the far post, and Fellaini brought it down on his chest for Mata to volley past Hennessey. The ball took a slight deflection off Ward on its way in. Marcus Rashford went off with a knee injury and was replaced by Ashley Young, while Palace sent on Dwight Gayle for Connor Wickham. Zaha struck the side-netting in stoppage time and the match went into extra time at 1-1.[1][3]
The additional period turned on a sending-off. On 105 minutes Smalling dragged Bolasie to the ground as the Palace winger threatened to break clear, and Clattenburg produced a second yellow card. Reduced to ten men, United still found the winner. In the 110th minute Valencia's low cross from the right was only half-cleared by Damien Delaney, and Jesse Lingard met the dropping ball with a fierce volley into the top corner from around 18 yards.[1][3]
The victory gave Manchester United a 12th FA Cup, equalling Arsenal's record, but it did not save Louis van Gaal's job. The club sacked him on the evening of Monday 23 May, two days after the final, with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward thanking him for a record-equalling trophy. Jose Mourinho's appointment as his replacement was confirmed on 27 May, four days after the match.[7][8][3]
The cup also reshuffled England's European places. Manchester United had already qualified for the Europa League group stage by finishing fifth in the Premier League, so their FA Cup winners' place passed down. Southampton, who finished sixth, entered the group stage in United's place, while West Ham United, who finished seventh, took Southampton's original place in the third qualifying round. United therefore went into Europe as domestic cup winners, but two other clubs travelled with them because of it.[9][10][11][12]
How the match unfolded
- 17:30Kick-off was scheduled for 5:30pm BST but was slightly delayed because the pre-match programme overran.[3][1]
- 10'Marouane Fellaini heads wide from a Daley Blind pass after climbing above Mile Jedinak.[1]
- 15'Wayne Rooney strikes from distance, the ball takes a deflection off Scott Dann and Wayne Hennessey gathers at the second attempt after fumbling.[1][3]
- 17'Connor Wickham is brought down by Chris Smalling, gets up and scores, but Mark Clattenburg had already blown for the foul and disallowed the goal. Smalling is booked.[1][3]
- 22'Juan Mata receives the ball from Fellaini and his low shot from the edge of the area is saved by Hennessey.[1][3]
- 33'Yannick Bolasie's long-range effort bounces awkwardly in front of David de Gea, who holds on.[1]
- 40'Marcos Rojo fouls Joel Ward and is shown the second Manchester United yellow card of the half.[1][3]
- 45'Mata is booked for a late challenge on Pape Souare. Half-time arrives with the score level at 0-0.[1][3]
- 47'Scott Dann fouls Marcus Rashford and becomes the first Crystal Palace player booked.[1][3]
- 52'Rashford flicks the ball to Fellaini, whose first-time shot from 12 yards strikes the near post with Hennessey beaten.[1][3]
- 61'Anthony Martial meets Antonio Valencia's clipped cross with a powerful header that bounces off the post.[1][3]
- 66'Rojo cannot continue after an earlier challenge and is replaced by Matteo Darmian.[1][3]
- 72'Marcus Rashford goes down with a knee injury after a clash with Wilfried Zaha and is replaced by Ashley Young. Crystal Palace make their first change, Jason Puncheon replacing Yohan Cabaye.[1][3]
- 78'Jason Puncheon controls a high Joel Ward pass on the left-hand side of the penalty area and thrashes a half-volley past De Gea. Crystal Palace lead 1-0.[1][3]
- 81'Wayne Rooney carries the ball from left to right and crosses to the far post, where Fellaini chests it down and Mata's volley takes a slight deflection off Ward on its way past Hennessey.[1][3]
- 86'Dwight Gayle replaces Connor Wickham for Crystal Palace.[1][3]
- 87'Wayne Rooney is booked for a late tackle on Joel Ward.[1][3]
- 90'Jesse Lingard replaces Juan Mata as Manchester United make their final substitution before stoppage time.[1][3]
- 94'Adrian Mariappa replaces the injured Scott Dann for Crystal Palace.[1][3]
- 105'Chris Smalling is shown a second yellow card for dragging Yannick Bolasie to the ground and becomes the fourth player to be sent off in an FA Cup final.[1][3]
- 108'James McArthur is booked for fouling Lingard as Manchester United break.[1][3]
- 110'Valencia's low cross from the right is partially cleared by Damien Delaney, and Jesse Lingard volleys the loose ball into the top corner from around 18 yards to give Manchester United a 2-1 lead.[1][3]
- 111'Lingard is booked for removing his shirt during his celebration.[1][3]
- full-timeThe final whistle blows after two minutes of second-half stoppage time. Manchester United win 2-1 after extra time.[1][3]
Match facts
Where they played
Both sides as they lined up. Choose any player to read what they did in this final.
Select a shirt for that player's note.
Route to the final
Crystal Palace
- Third round: Southampton (a) won 2-1
- Fourth round: Stoke City (h) won 1-0
- Fifth round: Tottenham Hotspur (a) won 1-0
- Sixth round: Reading (a) won 2-0
- Semi-final: Watford (Wembley) won 2-1
Manchester United
- Third round: Sheffield United (h) won 1-0
- Fourth round: Derby County (a) won 3-1
- Fifth round: Shrewsbury Town (a) won 3-0
- Sixth round: West Ham United (h) drew 1-1, replay (a) won 2-1
- Semi-final: Everton (Wembley) won 2-1
Line-ups
Crystal Palace · 4-2-3-1
- Wayne Hennessey Goalkeeper
- Joel Ward Right back. Provided the assist for Puncheon's goal
- Scott Dann Centre back. Booked early in the second half and injured late on
- Damien Delaney Centre back. Booked for a foul on Rojo; his partial clearance led to Lingard's winner
- Pape Souare Left back
- Mile Jedinak Captain, central midfield
- James McArthur Central midfield. Booked in extra time
- Wilfried Zaha Right winger
- Yohan Cabaye Attacking midfield. Replaced by Puncheon in the 72nd minute
- Yannick Bolasie Left winger
- Connor Wickham Centre forward. Replaced by Gayle in the 86th minute
Manchester United · 4-1-4-1
- David de Gea Goalkeeper
- Antonio Valencia Right back. His low cross led to the winning goal
- Chris Smalling Centre back. Sent off in extra time for a second yellow card
- Daley Blind Centre back
- Marcos Rojo Left back. Booked in the first half and substituted with an injury
- Michael Carrick Defensive midfield
- Juan Mata Right midfield. Scored the equaliser and was replaced by Lingard at the end of normal time
- Marouane Fellaini Central midfield. Hit the post in the second half and provided the assist for Mata
- Wayne Rooney Captain, central midfield. Set up the equaliser with a run and cross from deep
- Anthony Martial Left midfield. Hit the post with a second-half header
- Marcus Rashford Centre forward. Replaced by Young after a knee injury
Trivia and detail
- Wayne Rooney was named man of the match. The Manchester United captain was playing in central midfield rather than as a forward.[3][1]
- Chris Smalling became the fourth player to be sent off in an FA Cup final, and Manchester United became the second club to win the final despite having a player dismissed, after their 1985 win over Everton.[3]
- Jesse Lingard had joined the Manchester United academy at the age of seven and lifted the FA Youth Cup in 2011. His winner was his first goal in 18 matches in all competitions.[1][3]
- Louis van Gaal won the FA Cup in a fourth country, having previously won domestic cups with Ajax in the Netherlands, Barcelona in Spain and Bayern Munich in Germany.[7][3]
- This was the first FA Cup final played under the Emirates sponsorship, which began in the 2015-16 season.[3]
- Crystal Palace were appearing in their second FA Cup final, and both had been against Manchester United. They lost the 1990 final after a replay.[3]
- The ticket allocation for each club was increased to 80 percent of available seats, up from 71 percent in previous seasons, and prices were reduced by five pounds per ticket.[3]
How well do you know the 2016 final?
Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.
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Who scored Manchester United's winning goal in the 2016 FA Cup final?
-
Which Manchester United player was sent off in extra time?
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What was the score at half-time?
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Which club entered the Europa League group stage because Manchester United had already qualified through the league?
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How many FA Cup titles had Manchester United won after this final?
What is not settled
Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:
- The exact length of the kick-off delay is reported only as a few minutes caused by the overrunning pre-match entertainment; no source gives a precise figure.
- Whether Chris Smalling should have been sent off for the first-half foul on Connor Wickham is contested. Clattenburg later admitted he should have played advantage; pundits including Rio Ferdinand and Alan Shearer criticised the decision not to dismiss Smalling.
- The extent of the deflection off Joel Ward for Juan Mata's equaliser is described differently by different sources. The FA report says Ward tried to block the volley; some accounts describe a decisive deflection.
- No official Football Association prize fund document for the 2015-16 season could be reached, so this record does not publish a prize-money table for the final.
How we know
Every claim on this page is tied to a numbered source below. These are the contemporary records behind it, each one fetched and matched word for word before publication rather than taken on trust:
- The FA official match report, 21 May 2016 · The Football Association
- The FA, 28 April 2016, referee appointment · The Football Association
Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.
Sources
- Supersub Jesse Lingard seals United's 12th FA Cup victory · The Football Association
- Mark Clattenburg to referee the 2016 Emirates FA Cup Final · The Football Association
- 2016 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
- Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United: Match report and highlights · Sky Sports
- Starting Lineups - C Palace vs Man Utd | 21.05.2016 · Sky Sports
- Crystal Palace - Manchester United, 21/05/2016 - FA Cup · worldfootball.net
- Louis van Gaal sacked by Manchester United · Sky Sports
- Jose Mourinho confirmed as new Manchester United manager · Sky Sports
- West Ham qualify for Europa League after Man Utd FA Cup win · Sky Sports
- European league champions and European qualification 2015-16 · ESPN
- Man Utd hold the key to European permutations · Premier League
- 2016/17 UEFA Europa League access list · UEFA
- 'If I make a mistake, it beats me up' · Irish Examiner