2018 FA Cup final

The 2018 FA Cup final was an <a href="/facts/Association_football/yttjeD0D">association football</a> match between <a href="/facts/Manchester_United_F.C./wmNVnVtQ">Manchester United</a> and <a href="/facts/Chelsea_F.C./A3uY71YN">Chelsea</a> on 19 May 2018 at <a href="/facts/Wembley_Stadium/mQC5Bonq">Wembley Stadium</a> in <a href="/facts/London/KozCCsy9">London</a>, England. It was the 137th FA Cup final overall and was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (<a href="/facts/FA_Cup/nq1hRAUw">FA Cup</a>), organised by <a href="/facts/The_Football_Association/9xGCEg03">the Football Association</a> (FA). It was the second successive final for Chelsea following their defeat by <a href="/facts/Arsenal_F.C./pubabvB0">Arsenal</a> <a href="/facts/2017_FA_Cup_final/ngKWVRhy">the previous year</a>. The teams had met twice before in the FA Cup Final, winning one each between them. The first was in <a href="/facts/1994_FA_Cup_final/N0axpCNA">1994</a>, which Manchester United won 4–0, and most recently in <a href="/facts/2007_FA_Cup_final/WW2sD84p">2007</a>, when Chelsea – then managed by the incumbent Manchester United boss <a href="/facts/Jos%25C3%25A9_Mourinho/eQXGvz54">José Mourinho</a> – won 1–0 after <a href="/facts/Overtime_(sports)/dgP1IbLD">extra time</a>.
<a href="/facts/Michael_Oliver_(referee)/Cnp35tQG">Michael Oliver</a> refereed the match which was notable for being the first FA Cup Final to use the <a href="/facts/Video_assistant_referee/2EWMEJ62">video assistant referee</a> (VAR) system. <a href="/facts/Prince_William%2c_Duke_of_Cambridge/6D9ETlcC">Prince William, Duke of Cambridge</a>, and President of the FA, was absent as he was attending his <a href="/facts/Wedding_of_Prince_Harry_and_Meghan_Markle/usUnybBE">brother's wedding</a>. The trophy was instead presented by Jackie Wilkins, the widow of former Manchester United and Chelsea player <a href="/facts/Ray_Wilkins/0IQES4Gd">Ray Wilkins</a>, who died in April 2018.
The match was played in sunny conditions in front of a Wembley crowd of 87,647. After a relatively even start to the match, on 21 minutes, Chelsea's <a href="/facts/Eden_Hazard/rSxfcDE7">Eden Hazard</a> was brought down in the Manchester United <a href="/facts/Penalty_area/dyEStqdt">box</a> and Oliver awarded a penalty. Hazard scored from the spot to make it 1–0 to Chelsea, a lead they maintained to half time. Manchester United dominated the second half, and saw a 63rd-minute goal from <a href="/facts/Alexis_S%25C3%25A1nchez/VdCKv02z">Alexis Sánchez</a> ruled out for <a href="/facts/Offside_(association_football)/k0wscRcV">offside</a> after being referred to VAR. The match ended 1–0 to Chelsea who won the FA Cup for the eighth time.
As winners, Chelsea qualified for the group stage of the <a href="/facts/2018%25E2%2580%259319_UEFA_Europa_League/2chjqrcN">2018–19 UEFA Europa League</a>, although they had qualified for that phase already via their league position. Chelsea also earned the right to play <a href="/facts/2017%25E2%2580%259318_Premier_League/xuqGpLxJ">2017–18 Premier League</a> champions <a href="/facts/Manchester_City_F.C./wtCrlIju">Manchester City</a> for the <a href="/facts/2018_FA_Community_Shield/lbsplebY">2018 FA Community Shield</a>.

2018 FA Cup final open-in-new

2018 FA Cup final