Chelsea vs Man City Highlights: FT CHE 0-1 MCI; Semenyo helps Man City win FA Cup for 8th time

That’s it from us in our coverage of the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City. Thank you and good night!

John Stones and Bernardo Silva, making their last appearance at the Wembley Stadium in the light blue kit, receive the trophy from Prince William as the celebrations begin at the Royal Box, with Man City winning their 17th major trophy under Pep Guardiola!

Chelsea have been on a gradual decline since winning the inaugural Fifa Club World Cup last year, having sacked two managers over the last five months and finding themselves at the ninth spot on the Premier League table with four losses and a draw in their last five outings.

Despite Man City entering the FA Cup final as the favourites, the Blues – currently led by interim boss Calum McFarlane – put up a spirited display and ensured Pep Guardiola’s men had to fight hard for their victory.

City, who have reached the last four consecutive FA Cup finals – winning two and losing as many – go level with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur with 8 titles. Only Arsenal (14) and Manchester United (13) have won more titles.

Pep Guardiola leads his men towards the Royal Box, where the glittering trophy awaits them, and will be handed over by Prince William.

First up are Chelsea, who make their way up the stairs towards the Royal Box where they will be receiving their runners-up medals from Prince William.

City had twice as many shots as well as shots on target and remained ahead of Chelsea in terms of possession. Safe to say they were the deserved winners in the end.

After finishing trophy-less last season, Manchester City have now won the League Cup as well as the FA Cup in the 2025-26 season. Pep Guardiola’s men, however, won’t be celebrating their triumph too hard, for they still have their sights set on the Premier League title, with the Gunners currently a couple of points ahead with a couple of games left.

90+6′: Antoine Semenyo’s 72nd-minute strike proves to be the winner as Manchester City defeat Chelsea by a solitary goal to complete a domestic cup double, having beaten Arsenal in the final of the League Cup in March!

90+1′: Chelsea need to beat the City keeper just once to force the FA Cup final to enter extra time. Delap, brought in as a substitute less than 10 minutes earlier, produces a solid chance in the form of a header after meeting a cross from the right flank, only for the ball to fly wide of the post.

90′: Manchester City find themselves on the cusp of winning a second FA Cup title in four editions after 90 minutes are up on the clock. Can Chelsea sneak in a late equaliser?

85′: Interim boss Calum McFarlane brings Liam Delap in place of Reece James in the 82nd minute and replaces Joao Pedro with Alejandro Garnacho shortly after.

85′: City suddenly a producing a flurry of chances, aiming to seal the contest with a 2-0 scoreline. And Cherki nearly doubles his team’s lead after firing from a central position at the edge of the box. Sanchez, however, produces an excellent save to deny him a goal.

77′: City make another threatening push towards the Chelsea goal, but O’Reilly’s cross into the centre of the box misses Haaland completely, and Chelsea are able to neutralise the charge in the end. Chelsea launch a counter than ends with Khusanov bringing another member of the opposition down in the City box. The ref once again ignores cries for a penalty.

74′: Chelsea nearly draw level less than a couple of minutes after Semenyo’s strike, with Fernandez attempting a tough shot from close range – almost a bicycle kick. Trafford is forced to make a last-minute leap, but the ball ends up sailing over the bar.

73′: Chelsea interim boss McFarlane finally makes a change with Pedro Neto coming in for Cucurella.

72′: Semenyo provides a neat little back-heel finish to beat Chelsea stopper Sanchez off a Haaland assist as Guardiola’s men finally seize the lead with a little under 20 minutes left in regular time!

66′: Joao Pedro has been Chelsea’s standout player so far today and he is on the verge of meeting a cross from the right channel, which could have threatened City keeper Trafford. The Brazilian, however, is brought down inside the box and the referee rules it in favour of Guardiola’s men, ignoring Chelsea’s pleas for a penalty.

64′: Guardiola sends Mateo Kovacic out in place of Rodri, who made his return to the pitch today after being sidelined for nearly a month.

59′: Reece James takes the corner on the right side of the pitch after Chelsea have a couple of penalty appeals shot down. The English right-back reconnects with the ball after an initial clearance and fires it towards the centre, where his cross proves too high for Fofana to head it into the net.

55′: Man City’s Abdukodir Khusanov joins Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella in the referee’s book, getting a yellow card for a rash challenge on Cucurella.

54′: Trafford meets a back pass deep inside his box, but isn’t in control of the ball and accidentally allows it to cross the touchline, resulting in an easy corner for Chelsea. Thankfully for Guardiola’s men, Trafford’s slip-up doesn’t cost them a goal as their defenders are able to keep the ball out in the subsequent set piece taken by James.

53′: Man City players plead for a penalty after Jeremy Doku is brought down on the left edge of the Chelsea penalty area. Referee England, however, ignores it for now, believing the Belgian winger was challenged outside the box.

48′: Manchester City begin the second half on a promising note and nearly seize the lead less than five minutes after restart, with Antoine Semenyo producing a well-timed jump near the goal post to meet a cross from the left flank. His header, however, flies marginally above the bar!

46′: Guardiola makes one change during the half-time interval, with Rayan Cherki coming in for Omar Marmoush.

City had far more shots compared to Chelsea and were well ahead in terms of possession, only for the two teams to remain goalless at the interval.

45+3′: Referee Darren England blasts his whistle to signal half-time in the FA Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium. The stoppage time witnesses Chelsea scream for a penalty after Pedro’s brought down inside the box following a promising run, only for the ref to rule it in favour of City.

We’ll be back in about 15 minutes’ time for the second half…

45′: Will that be enough for either team to break the deadlock before making their way back through the tunnel?

43′: Haaland blazes his way into the Chelsea penalty area from the left edge of the box and takes a shot from the far post at a tight angle. Sanchez, however, is perfectly positioned to block the star striker’s left-footed shot.

39′: Cucurella receives the ball near the centre of the penalty area from the right flank, but isn’t in control of his header and soon finds himself chasing the ball away from the City goal. A little over five minutes left for half-time. Can either team break the deadlock?