[Archive 2018-05-22] Football: Chelsea beats Manchester United 1-0 to win English FA Cup

Historical archive — originally published 2018-05-22. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

London-based football club Chelsea defeated Manchester United 1–0 at the Wembley stadium on Monday to win the English FA Cup. Belgian winger Eden Hazard, who was brought down by Manchester's Phil Jones in the penalty area, scored the only goal — a 22nd minute penalty — to win the match for The Blues as they won their eight FA Cup trophy, their first since 2012.

United had greater ball possession — 67%, twice Chelsea's. Manchester had eighteen shots, managing five on target; while the Londoners had just six shots, three on target. Early, in the first ten minutes, Hazard attempted to score a left-footed shot in the left corner, assisted by Tiemoué Bakayoko. Soon after 20 minutes on the clock, United defender Jones committed a foul on Hazard in the penalty area and was shown a yellow card. Match official Martin Oliver referred to video assistant referee and awarded Chelsea a penalty kick. Taking a short run, Hazard converted the spot-kick into a goal, sending United's goalkeeper David De Gea in the wrong direction. The first half ended in a 1–0 lead for The Blues, with Phil Jones the only one booked in that half.

In the 56th minute, United came close to equalising, but Chelsea's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois denied Marcus Rashford the chance to level up. A couple of minutes later, Manchester United's Antonio Valencia was shown yellow. In the 63rd minute, Alexis Sanchez almost equalised for United, from Jones's assist, but was caught offside. Manchester made a double-substitution in the 73rd minute as Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku came on for Rashford and Anthony Martial replaced injured Jesse Lingard.

Spanish midfielder Juan Mata replaced Jones in the 87th minute, and Chelsea made their first substitution in the 89th minute when Álvaro Morata came on for Olivier Giroud. Hazard was replaced by Willian in the injury time, and Chelsea's Belgian goalkeeper Courtois got booked minutes before the final whistle.

This was the first domestic cup victory for the Italian manager Antonio Conte, who lost last year's FA Cup against Arsenal FC. Conte's Chelsea won the Premier League last season but finished fifth this time, missing out the UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.

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