2017-18 FA Cup · The Final
2018 FA Cup Final: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
The 2018 final is remembered for Eden Hazard's penalty, but it was also the first FA Cup final to use VAR and the afternoon that completed a unique cup treble for Chelsea.
Eden Hazard's penalty won Chelsea the FA Cup at Wembley, in the first final to use video assistant referees and the match that completed a unique treble of FA Cup trophies for the west London club.
Saturday 19 May 2018 · Wembley Stadium
What you will not find elsewhere
The first FA Cup final to use VAR, and the goal it took away
The 2018 final is routinely recalled for Eden Hazard's penalty, but its other first is just as consequential: it was the first FA Cup final to use the video assistant referee system. Neil Swarbrick was the VAR and Mick McDonough his assistant. The technology's decisive intervention came in the second half, when Alexis Sanchez kneed the ball into the net and the assistant referee's offside flag was confirmed by video replays. The goal was disallowed, and Manchester United's best chance of an equaliser went with it.[2][1][7]
The penalty minute that depends on which clock you read
The Football Association's own match report says Eden Hazard was brought down in the 22nd minute. Sky Sports agrees. Wikipedia records the foul itself at 21 minutes and the successful penalty at 22. ESPN's live match feed lists both figures. We headline the goal at 22 minutes because that is what the governing body's report says, and we record the one-minute spread in the uncertainties rather than pretending the sources agree.[1][8][7][9]
A treble no other English club had managed
Chelsea's men's team won the FA Cup, Emma Hayes's women's team won the Women's FA Cup, and the under-18s won the FA Youth Cup. The Football Association noted afterwards that Chelsea were the first club to have won all three competitions in the same season. The men's final was the last of the three, so the treble was not completed until Hazard's penalty went in.[1][4]
The footage
The match report
The 137th FA Cup final was played at Wembley on Saturday 19 May 2018, the last match of the 2017-18 competition. Chelsea and Manchester United were meeting in a third final, after United won the 1994 meeting 4-0 and Chelsea won the 2007 meeting 1-0 after extra time. The afternoon was notable before kick-off as the first final to use the video assistant referee system, and after it for a single goal decided by Eden Hazard.[1][7]
The match was framed by tributes to Ray Wilkins, who died on 4 April at the age of 61. Wilkins had played for both clubs and won the FA Cup with each: with United in 1983, and three times as a Chelsea assistant manager in 2000, 2009 and 2010. Both sets of fans applauded his memory before kick-off, with banners at each end of Wembley, and his widow Jackie presented the trophy to winning captain Gary Cahill in place of Prince William, who was best man at his brother Prince Harry's wedding.[4][7][8]
After a quiet opening, Hazard forced the first save from David de Gea around the eighth minute. Tiemoue Bakayoko's penalty appeal was turned down on 14 minutes, and a Sanchez claim shortly afterwards was also waved away. The goal came in the 22nd minute: Cesc Fabregas played Hazard through, Phil Jones slid in and brought him down, and Michael Oliver pointed to the spot. Hazard sent De Gea the wrong way and Chelsea led 1-0.[1][8]
Manchester United dominated the second half but could not turn possession into goals. Thibaut Courtois pushed away a Jones header, and when Sanchez kneed the rebound into the net on 63 minutes the assistant referee's flag was up; VAR confirmed he was offside. Mourinho sent on Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial after 73 minutes, and later Juan Mata, but Courtois saved from Martial and Nemanja Matic headed over in stoppage time. Chelsea made their own changes deep in added time and held on.[1][8][7]
Chelsea's 1-0 win brought the club an eighth FA Cup and completed a unique treble: the men's team, Emma Hayes's women's team and the under-18s had all won their FA Cup competitions in the same season. For Conte it was a first domestic cup as a manager; for Mourinho it was a first cup final defeat in charge of an English club, ending a run of six wins in England. Rudiger was named man of the match.[1][4][8][7]
The aftermath was swift. Conte was sacked in July 2018 and replaced by Maurizio Sarri; Mourinho was dismissed by United in December 2018. Chelsea qualified for the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League group stage as winners, although they had already done so through their league position, which meant Arsenal took the other English group-stage place.[7]
How the match unfolded
- pre-matchBoth sets of fans applauded the memory of Ray Wilkins, who played for both clubs, with banners displayed at each end of Wembley.[4][8]
- 8'Eden Hazard cuts inside and forces a low save from David de Gea.[1][7]
- 14'Tiemoue Bakayoko goes down under pressure from Nemanja Matic and appeals for a penalty; Michael Oliver waves play on.[1][7]
- 16'Alexis Sanchez claims a penalty after contact with Victor Moses and Cesar Azpilicueta; Oliver turns it down.[7]
- 22'Cesc Fabregas plays Eden Hazard into the box, Phil Jones slides in and brings him down, and Oliver awards a penalty. Hazard converts to make it 1-0.[1][8][7]
- 35'Ashley Young's free-kick is headed past the post by Phil Jones.[7]
- 52'Marcus Rashford forces a double save from Thibaut Courtois.[1][8]
- 63'Sanchez knees the ball into the net after Courtois saves Jones's header, but the assistant referee flags offside and VAR confirms the decision.[1][8][7]
- 71'Marcos Alonso's shot is parried by De Gea; the rebound strikes Ashley Young's arm and another penalty appeal is dismissed, again with VAR involvement.[1][7]
- 73'Mourinho sends on Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial for Rashford and Lingard.[1][7]
- 87'Juan Mata replaces Phil Jones as United chase an equaliser.[1][7]
- 89'Antonio Conte brings on Alvaro Morata for Olivier Giroud.[1][7]
- 90'Willian replaces Eden Hazard in stoppage time.[1][7]
- full-timeChelsea win 1-0 and lift the FA Cup for the eighth time.[1][8]
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
Chelsea
- Third round: Norwich City (a) drew 0-0, replay (h) drew 1-1, won 5-3 on penalties after extra time
- Fourth round: Newcastle United (h) won 3-0
- Fifth round: Hull City (h) won 4-0
- Quarter-final: Leicester City (a) won 2-1 after extra time
- Semi-final: Southampton (Wembley) won 2-0
Manchester United
- Third round: Derby County (h) won 2-0
- Fourth round: Yeovil Town (a) won 4-0
- Fifth round: Huddersfield Town (a) won 2-0
- Quarter-final: Brighton and Hove Albion (h) won 2-0
- Semi-final: Tottenham Hotspur (Wembley) won 2-1
Line-ups
Chelsea · 3-5-1-1
- Thibaut Courtois Goalkeeper
- Cesar Azpilicueta Right-sided centre back
- Gary Cahill Captain and central centre back
- Antonio Rudiger Left-sided centre back; named man of the match
- Victor Moses Right wing-back
- Cesc Fabregas Central midfield; assisted the penalty with the pass to Hazard
- N'Golo Kante Defensive midfield
- Tiemoue Bakayoko Central midfield
- Marcos Alonso Left wing-back
- Eden Hazard Scored the winning penalty in the 22nd minute
- Olivier Giroud Centre forward
Manchester United · 4-3-3
- David de Gea Goalkeeper
- Antonio Valencia Captain, right back
- Phil Jones Centre back; conceded the penalty and was booked
- Chris Smalling Centre back
- Ashley Young Left back
- Ander Herrera Central midfield
- Nemanja Matic Central midfield
- Paul Pogba Central midfield
- Jesse Lingard Right forward
- Marcus Rashford Centre forward
- Alexis Sanchez Left forward; had a second-half goal disallowed by VAR
Trivia and detail
- This was the first FA Cup final to use the video assistant referee system. Neil Swarbrick was the VAR and Mick McDonough his assistant.[2][7]
- Chelsea became the only club to have won the FA Cup, the Women's FA Cup and the FA Youth Cup in the same season.[1][4]
- Jose Mourinho had never lost a cup final in charge of an English club before this match, winning each of his previous six. It was also his first full season without silverware since 2013-14.[4][8][7]
- Michael Oliver, aged 33, became the youngest FA Cup final referee since Herbert Bamlett officiated the 1914 final at the age of 32.[7][3]
- Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud became the first players to appear in consecutive FA Cup finals for different clubs since Brian Talbot represented Ipswich Town in 1978 and Arsenal in 1979.[7]
- Eden Hazard's penalty was the first scored in an FA Cup final, excluding shoot-outs, since Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United against Millwall in 2004.[1][8]
- The trophy was presented by Jackie Wilkins, widow of Ray Wilkins, because Prince William was best man at Prince Harry's wedding on the same day.[4][7]
How well do you know the 2018 final?
Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.
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Who scored Chelsea's winning goal in the 2018 FA Cup final?
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Which Manchester United player conceded the penalty?
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What was the final score?
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What new technology was used for the first time in this FA Cup final?
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Who presented the FA Cup trophy to Chelsea captain Gary Cahill?
What is not settled
Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:
- The minute of Hazard's penalty is genuinely contested. The Football Association's match report says the 22nd minute, Sky Sports agrees, and Wikipedia says Hazard was fouled after 21 minutes and scored the penalty in the 22nd. ESPN's live timeline lists both 21 and 22. We record 22 as the headline figure because the governing body's report uses it.
- Whether Phil Jones should have been sent off rather than cautioned is a matter of interpretation. Antonio Conte said he thought it should have been a red card, but under the laws then in force a genuine attempt to play the ball in the penalty area was a yellow. Oliver showed yellow.
- The exact amount of added time is reported differently. The FA's match report mentions five minutes of additional time; other sources describe a six-minute board. We use 'stoppage time' without a precise figure.
- No video has been verified for this final yet, so the television on the page shows no signal rather than an unchecked embed.
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, 19 May 2018 · The Football Association
- The FA, 24 April 2018, match officials and kick-off announcement · The Football Association
- The FA, 24 April 2018, interview with the referee · The Football Association
- The FA, 19 May 2018, alternative view of the final · The Football Association
- The FA, 19 May 2018, post-match reaction quotes · The Football Association
- The FA, 24 April 2018, ticket allocation and kick-off details · The Football Association
Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.
Sources
- Chelsea win Emirates FA Cup · The Football Association
- Kick-off time and match officials confirmed for Emirates FA Cup Final · The Football Association
- Michael Oliver on FA Cup Final appointment · The Football Association
- Five things you may have missed from the Emirates FA Cup Final · The Football Association
- Blues' day · The Football Association
- Cup Final details · The Football Association
- 2018 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
- Eden Hazard delivers potential parting gift as Chelsea beat Manchester United to win FA Cup · Sky Sports
- Chelsea 1-0 Man United (May 19, 2018) Final Score · ESPN