CHELSEA 0-1 MANCHESTER CITY: Full Blues player ratings from Wembley Stadium after Antoine Semenyo’s goal secured the FA Cup trophy for Pep Guardiola’s team
Antoine Semenyo’s second-half goal inflicted even more Wembley heartbreak on Chelsea, who have now lost their last seven finals at the country’s national stadium.
Semenyo’s backheel finish 71 minutes into the FA Cup final means that City still have an outside shot of a domestic treble this season. As for Chelsea, it was a familiar story at Wembley – a cursed venue for the Blues.
Chelsea will feel they should have had at least one penalty in the final. Darren England waved away several shouts for a spot kick in a hugely frustrating afternoon for the west Londoners in the capital.
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City thought they took the lead through Erling Haaland in the first half but Matheus Nunes, who crossed the ball, was flagged offside. Antoine Semenyo should have put City ahead early into the second period, but the Ghanaian headed over from close range.
After that, though, Chelsea really grew into the game and had a dominant period. However, City reclaimed control and took the lead on 72 minutes, with Semenyo intelligently flicking the ball into the bottom corner after being found by Haaland.
That proved to be the only goal of the final. Below, Bobby Vincent has rated the Chelsea players based on their performance.
Robert Sanchez – In a Petr Cech-style helmet, Sanchez was called into action to deny Haaland in the first half. Not much he could do about Semenyo’s goal. 6
Wesley Fofana – Did well again. Fofana looked to carry the ball into the City half as often as he could. Helped deal with the threat of Jeremy Doku. Does well at the near post in the second half to stop a dangerous cross from Doku. 6
Levi Colwill – His line-breaking passes have been so sorely missed. In these last three matches, Colwill has shown exactly what Chelsea have been lacking all season-long in their build-up play. Outstanding yet again. 7
Jorrel Hato – Really solid in the left-hand side of Chelsea’s back three. Did his job really well – as he has done all the way through 2026, really. 6
Malo Gusto – Gets forward well when Chelsea managed to get out. Gusto put a really dangerous cross into the box around 20 minutes in and was unlucky nobody was there to head in at the far post. Got into some good positions but his final ball was lacking. 6
Reece James – First start in more than two months and the captain made a rusty start. He gifted possession to City and Haaland should have done a lot better with the chance. Not his usual self. Perhaps understandably given his time out of the side. He grew into the game in the second half. 5
Moises Caicedo – Passed it well in there. Very busy in the middle as always. He made an excellent interception late on to stop it going 2-0 to City. 7
Marc Cucurella – Looked to get down the left wing, just like he did at Anfield seven days ago. Unfortunately this time, City were aware of his threat and nullified the Spaniard’s impact pretty well. Did well one-on-one against Semenyo. 6
Cole Palmer – Struggled to get too involved in the final. When he was found in dangerous positions, Palmer was wasteful with his end product. Defensively, though, he put in a real shift. 6
Enzo Fernandez – Played a lovely pass to Joao Pedro in the 22nd minute to create a decent chance for the Chelsea forward. Showed some nice aggression early on but had to limit it after being booked for a challenge on Bernardo Silva. Good, but perhaps not as impactful as he would have hoped for. 6
Joao Pedro – Just like in the win last month against Leeds United at Wembley, Chelsea were looking to hit Joao Pedro with long balls. However, it didn’t have the same level of impact. 6
Pedro Neto (on for Cucurella 74′) – Used in a left wing-back role, Neto looked bright when coming on with just over 15 minutes remaining. 6
Liam Delap (on for James 82′) – Not enough time to make an impact. N/A
Alejandro Garnacho (on for Joao Pedro 86′) – See above. N/A
