A season that began with Chelsea as FIFA Club World Cup winners has unravelled into poor form, managerial sackings and fan protests, but redemption could still come in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.
For Chelsea, it is all or nothing as they try to shake off the turmoil currently enveloping the west London club and win their first domestic trophy for eight years.
“It’s time for us to grab it with both hands and give it our all,” Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah said. “It has not been the season we wanted, but we have the chance to win a trophy.”
Chelsea have sacked Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior this season and are out of contention for UEFA Champions League qualification.
Victory would end a horrible long losing streak in domestic finals, including a record three successive FA Cup finals — against Leicester City, Arsenal and Liverpool between 2020-2022.
For Manchester City, victory would keep alive their slender hopes of a domestic treble, having already won the League Cup and still hunting Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
Not that the favourites will be taking anything for granted despite Chelsea sitting ninth in the league standings, having failed to win any of their last seven games.
City suffered upsets in the last two FA Cup finals, beaten by Crystal Palace last year and Manchester United in 2024.
“It’s a pleasure to go to the cathedral again to play the final. Hopefully it’s better than the last two times,” manager Pep Guardiola said after Wednesday’s 3-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace that kept City in the title race.
Guardiola made several changes to his starting line-up for the game against Palace, with Erling Haaland playing no part. The Norwegian will be leading City’s attack in Saturday’s showpiece, though, aiming to correct a remarkable statistic.
Haaland has scored 161 goals in 196 games for City in all competitions yet has never found the net or made an assist in the 12 semi-finals or finals in which he has featured.
Chelsea will hope that City’s hectic schedule which sees them go to Bournemouth next Tuesday probably needing a win to stay in the title race will be to their advantage.
“Chelsea are at home preparing the final. We have to travel to London, and they will be at home,” Guardiola said after the Palace win, City’s eighth in their last nine since bowing out of the Champions League to Real Madrid in March.
