Man City Win FA Cup: Guardiola’s City Lift FA Cup After 1-0 Win Against Chelsea

Semenyo goal downs Chelsea at Wembley

Rayan Cherki impressed off the bench, while Sanchez kept Chelsea in it with late saves from Nunes and Cherki.

City lifted the FA Cup for the eighth time, handing Chelsea a fourth straight final defeat...

Antoine Semenyo’s moment of magic gave Manchester City a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup final. It’s City’s first FA Cup since 2023, even though they’d reached the final in both years since.

Pep Guardiola’s side dominated possession early and started carving out chances. Semenyo had two shots blocked, and Omar Marmoush couldn’t get a clean touch after the first one.

Rodri met a header but saw it blocked by Joao Pedro. City kept passing it around well but couldn’t force Robert Sanchez into a save.

Joao Pedro had a chance at the other end, but Abdukodir Khusanov stayed tight and Pedro slipped as he shot. James Trafford picked it up easily.

Matheus Nunes cut the ball back for Erling Haaland to tap in on 27 minutes, but it was ruled out for offside. The right-back had gone too early before Semenyo played him through.

Semenyo danced past Marc Cucurella but then blasted a poor shot out for a throw-in. Chelsea enjoyed a spell of possession after that but didn’t test the keeper.

Haaland finally made Sanchez work just before halftime, with the keeper instinctively tipping his first-time strike over the bar.

OH. MY. WORD.

Antoine Semenyo with a sensational flick to light up this #EmiratesFACup Final and give @ManCity the breakthrough 🤯

📺 @BBCMOTD, @footballontnt and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/6WEjBKOHKS

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 16, 2026

Guardiola brought on Rayan Cherki at halftime, and the Frenchman made an impact almost immediately. Two minutes in he switched the ball out to Nico O’Reilly, whose cross found Semenyo for a header that went over.

Chelsea started growing into it. Rodri cleared Moisés Caicedo’s header after Trafford gave away a cheap corner, and Wesley Fofana couldn’t get Reece James’ cross on target.

It was the City end that erupted in the 72nd minute. Haaland pulled it back and Semenyo flicked it home with a clever finish that rolled inside the far post.

Antoine Semenyo’s goal was the difference 🤩⚽@ManCity prevail at @WembleyStadium 🏆 pic.twitter.com/LUAvSlYkoT

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 16, 2026

Enzo Fernandez went close to leveling it straight away, but City held firm. Sánchez kept them ahead with saves from Nunes and Cherki late on.

City did enough to win their second Wembley final this season, taking the FA Cup for the eighth time in club history. That puts them level with Chelsea’s tally and sets them up nicely for the Premier League run-in.

The result means Chelsea have now lost four FA Cup finals in a row.