Manchester City Wins Their Eighth FA Cup Title, Chelsea Fail to Lift the Trophy

Manchester City won the 2026 FA Cup after defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the final match at Wembley Stadium. This title marks City's eighth FA Cup trophy in Club History, as well as the second domestic honour for Pep's squad this season following their earlier Carabao Cup victory.

This victory extends Manchester City's successful era under Guardiola. Having lifted the trophy previously in 2019 and 2023, City have once again claimed supremacy at Wembley and demonstrated their consistent dominance in modern English Football.

Manchester City's lone winning goal was scored by Antoine Semenyo in the 71st minute via a clever finish right in front of Chelsea's goal.

Manchester City played aggressively right from the start of the match. Their first chance opened when Semenyo dribbled past multiple Chelsea players before firing a shot that was blocked by the defence. Omar Marmoush reached the loose rebound, but his effort was safely collected by Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

City continued applying pressure through combination play between Jeremy Doku and Rodri. Rodri's header from Doku's cross was blocked, before Erling Haaland attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick on the loose ball. Chelsea's defence once again successfully neutralised this chance.

Haaland even found the back of Chelsea's net in the first half. This goal was ruled out however, as Matheus Nunes was in an offside position before delivering the cross to the Norwegian striker.

On the opposite end, Chelsea made multiple attempts to break pressure with fast counter attacks. Poor final execution on all their attempts meant they never created any serious threat against goalkeeper James Trafford.

Just before half-time, Chelsea appealed for a penalty after Joao Pedro went down following contact with Abdukodir Khusanov inside the penalty box. The referee did not rule the incident as a foul.

After the break, City created another opening. Rayan Cherki played a pass that Nico O'Reilly turned into a dangerous cross into the box, but Semenyo's close-range header flew just over the crossbar.

Chelsea lodged another penalty appeal when Joao Pedro went down once more in a physical duel against Khusanov on City's right defensive flank. The referee stood by his decision despite sustained protests from the Chelsea players.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 72nd minute. Chelsea lost possession deep inside their own defensive area, allowing City to launch an immediate fast counter attack.

Haaland linked up with Cherki before sending a cross from the right wing, which Semenyo flicked with the back of his heel into the far post to put Manchester City 1-0 ahead.

After falling behind, Chelsea ramped up their attacking intensity. Five minutes later, The Blues protested another referee call after Khusanov made contact with Jorrel Hato inside the penalty area. Once again, no penalty was awarded.

Chelsea's clearest chance came from a build-up between Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez that was laid off to Pedro Neto. Unfortunately, Neto's shot from a tight angle failed to properly test Trafford in goal.

Meanwhile, Robert Sanchez put on an impressive performance between the posts for Chelsea. He pulled off two consecutive point-blank saves to deny efforts from Matheus Nunes and Cherki, keeping his side's hopes alive right until the dying minutes of the match.

Chelsea got their final opportunity in stoppage time, when Rori Delap met Malo Gusto's cross with a headed effort. The ball drifted narrowly wide of the target, sealing Manchester City's status as 2026 FA Cup champions.

For Manchester City, this title becomes the club's eighth FA Cup trophy ever, following their first win in the competition back in 1904. Arsenal still hold the all-time record for most FA Cup titles with 14 trophies, followed by Manchester United who have collected 13 titles including the 2024 edition.

Conversely, this defeat means Chelsea end the season without any silverware, and their chances of qualifying for next season's European Competitions are now under serious threat.