It began to be clear fairly early on that this could be one of those finals decided by the narrowest of margins, as the tension was already building during a first-half that was almost devoid of clear chances, apart from one strong save by Robert Sanchez right on the brink of half-time.

There was a brief flurry of activity as the second period began, Antoine Semenyo heading just over the bar, before Moises Caicedo had a header of his own cleared off the line a couple of minutes later.

However, the momentum swung towards the Cityzens as the second half wore on and they were able to provide the decisive attack, when Semenyo turned in Erling Haaland's low cross for the only goal of the game.

Enzo Fernandez was close to levelling things immediately afterwards, but once that flicked volley had dropped beyond the crossbar we found it difficult to carve out the chance we needed for an equaliser. As a result, defeat in the FA Cup final means our pursuit of European qualification will need to be accomplished in the Premier League.

The selection

Interim head coach Calum McFarlane made two changes to the side which drew 1-1 at Liverpool for the FA Cup final. Robert Sanchez returned in goal, replacing Filip Jorgensen. The back-three shape deployed against Liverpool remained, with a central defensive trio of Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Jorrel Hato.

Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella continued as wing-backs, while Reece James returned to midfield to captain the Blues alongside Moises Caicedo. Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez retained their places in the Chelsea attack, which was spearheaded by Joao Pedro.

Setting out our stall

Once the usual Wembley fanfare was finished – complete with fireworks and marching bands on the pitch, banners and flags in the stands – it was time for the serious action to get under way as Palmer kicked us off for the 2026 FA Cup final.

Chelsea’s early game plan and the reason for the choice of formation was clear right from the start, using the front three and wing-backs to allow us to press high and deny Manchester City the time on the ball in defence to usually enjoy so leisurely.

That saw Palmer, Joao Pedro and Fernandez regularly crossing the halfway line to hunt the ball from the centre-backs, while those behind pushed up with a relatively high defensive line to keep things compact in the middle.

City are not a team who like to rush things, though, and they tried to lower the pace of the game whenever they had the ball. The first time they did pick up the tempo they were nearly in, Jeremy Doku’s deflected shot dropping kindly for Omar Marmoush 10 yards out, but he made a mess of it and Sanchez was able to gather comfortably.

In contrast, the Blues looked to attack quickly through Palmer and Joao Pedro at any opportunity, with the former threatening to race clear 10 minutes in, only to be denied at the last moment by an excellent sliding challenge from Abdukodir Khusanov.

Game coming to life

There were few chances inside the opening 20 minutes, but City briefly looked worried as Matheus Nunes was forced to head behind at close range at the back post, just as Cucurella was poised to meet a whipped Gusto cross. Nothing came of the corner, and then Joao Pedro lost his footing as he prepared to shoot, but they were promising signs from the Blues after a quiet start.

Manchester City did then have the ball in the back of the net, but there was no celebration from Haaland, who could tell Nunes had teed him up from an obviously offside position before the linesman’s flag even went up.

Our opponents started to carry a little more threat as the first half drew on, as shown by the game’s first two yellow cards going to Fernandez and Cucurella in quick succession, but with their only sight of goal Semenyo slashed his shot out for a throw-in.

And so we went into the break with the scoreboard empty and one Sanchez block right at the end of the half being the only serious save either goalkeeper needed to make during the opening 45 minutes at Wembley.

It was Manchester City who came out for the second period looking the more dangerous, but thankfully when Nico O’Reilly hung up a cross a minute before the restart, Semenyo’s header flew over Sanchez’s crossbar.

We responded not long afterwards from a corner, cheaply conceded when James Trafford took his eye off the ball and let it run out of play. Caicedo’s header at the second attempt was goalbound with the keeper out of position, but Rodri was in the right place the nod it out of danger from under the crossbar.

Tension building

That was arguably Chelsea’s strongest spell of momentum so far. However, it was short-lived, and the match soon returned to the tight, cagey pattern of the first half.

It was starting to have the feel of one of those cup finals with little to separate the two sides on the pitch, which could be decided by one moment of brilliance, or one mistake, as the pressure continued to mount and the clock ticked on.

As caution began to come to the fore in both sides, and defences grew ever more resolute, it was becoming increasingly difficult for either team to carry their possession forward into the final third of the pitch.

Blues behind

Unfortunately it was City who started to overcome those problems first, with big interventions by Fofana and Cucurella needed to keep dangerous looking crosses away from harm. They were warnings that the danger was growing, but they were not heeded.

With just under 20 minutes left, it was Manchester City who took the lead. Haaland was able to hold the ball up in the Chelsea half and race into the box to receive the return pass. When he drilled it low across goal, Semenyo managed to spin and flick a finish around the corner and past Sanchez to give his team the lead.

We tried to hit back immediately when Colwill nodded a set-piece on in the box and Fernandez flicked it goalward, but it looped just over the bar. City's lead then prompted McFarlane into a change of shape to help us chase a goal, Pedro Neto coming on for Cucurella as we reverted to a back four, Hato shifting to left-back.

Liam Delap and Alejandro Garnacho would join Neto on the pitch before long, but it was to no avail, as City looked the more likely to extend their advantage. Only a pair of excellent safe by Sanchez during the last 10 minutes kept the scoreline to 1-0, as Chelsea's hopes of FA Cup glory came to an end at Wembley.

What it means

There will be no trophy for the Blues this season, and our push for European qualification now moves on to the Premier League. As Manchester City are already guaranteed a place in the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup winner's UEFA Europa League spot now goes to the next highest team in the league, which is currently seventh place.

What is next

A packed finish to the campaign sees our last two Premier League fixtures arriving in the space of six days. First we host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening, kicking off at 8.15pm, before making the long trip north to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on the final day, a 4pm kick-off next Sunday.

The teams

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Sanchez; Fofana, Colwill, Hato; Gusto, James (c) (Delap 83), Caicedo, Cucurella (Neto 74); Palmer, Fernandez; Joao Pedro (Garnacho 85)
Unused subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Chalobah, Tosin, Essugo, Santos
Booked: Fernandez 29, Cucurella 32, Caicedo 90+2

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Trafford; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rodri (Kovacic 65), Silva (c); Semenyo, Marmoush (Cherki h-t), Doku; Haaland
Unused subs: Donnarumma, Ake, Dias, Stones, Reijnders, Foden, Savinho
Scorer: Semenyo 72
Booked: Khusanov 56

Referee: Darren England