CHELSEA'S COMPLETE RECORD IN THE FA CUP

Chelsea are one of the most successful clubs in FA Cup history, with eight titles. They sit behind Arsenal and Manchester United, who have 14 and 12 trophies, respectively. The London club enjoyed a particularly successful period in the competition in the late 1990s and 2000s, but have had much less success in recent years.

The 2024 FA Cup saw Mauricio Pochettino's men fall at the semi-final stage thanks to a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, with Bernardo Silva's late winner ensuring that the Blues once again would finish the season trophy-less. Nevertheless, Chelsea do have a rich history in the FA Cup, and this article breaks down their performances and results in it.

1960-1970

Chelsea first played in the FA Cup in 1931 and, for the next few decades, struggled to make it past the semi-finals of the competition. The Blues' first appearance in an FA Cup final was in the 1966/67 season, when they played arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs ran out 2-1 winners, thanks to goals from James Robertson and Frank Saul in front of 100,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium.

The 1967 final was Tommy Docherty's final season in charge of Chelsea, paving the way for Dave Sexton to replace him. Three years later, Sexton's side made it to the FA Cup final again, where they played Leeds. The first match at Wembley was a 2-2 draw, meaning the game went to a replay at Old Trafford. Chelsea were able to exorcise their demons of the past and beat the Yorkshire side 2-1 after extra-time, with the winning goal coming from David Webb. Sexton had secured the club's first ever FA Cup victory and, in the next season, won the European Cup Winners' Cup.

1970-1980

The 1970s were a struggle for Chelsea in English football's oldest competition. They were unable to make it past the quarter-finals, losing to lower league opposition along the way. One of these defeats was against Leyton Orient in 1978. After a 0-0 draw away at Division Two Orient, Chelsea returned to Stamford Bridge as the clear favourites, but inexplicably lost 2-1 to the London club.

The closest Chelsea came to another final was the 1973 quarter-final defeat to Arsenal. This was another replay loss after they held Arsenal to a 2-2 draw at home. However, the Gunners won 2-1 in the return match, condemning Chelsea to another underpar FA Cup campaign in the 1970s.

1980-1990

Chelsea spent five of the ten seasons in the 1980s in Division Two, which coincided with a poor run in the FA Cup. While in the second tier in 1982, they managed to reach the quarter-finals, where they lost to Tottenham 3-2 at Stamford Bridge. It didn't get any better than that, though, going out in the Fourth Round four consecutive seasons from 1984 to 1988.

The worst defeat in the FA Cup in the 1980s for Chelsea was the 4-0 loss away at Barnsley. Under the management of Bobby Campbell from 1988 to 1991, Chelsea did not make it past the fourth round of the FA Cup. It is worth noting that Campbell won the Second Division title in 1989 and the Full Members Cup only a year later.

1990-2000

The 1990s were a much more successful period in the FA Cup, as they won it on two occasions under Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli. The first time was in 1997 under Gullit, who was in his first season in charge of the Blues as player-manager. Chelsea's 2-0 win against Middlesbrough in the final at Wembley was their first FA Cup triumph in 27 years and their first major trophy in 26 years, following their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup victory in 1971. Roberto Di Matteo's goal after 43 seconds set the record for the quickest FA Cup final goal ever, but he has since been beaten on two occasions.

Three years later, Chelsea repeated their FA Cup triumph, beating Aston Villa 1-0 in the final. Under Italian manager Vialli, Di Matteo scored again, in front of 78,217 fans at Wembley. To reach the final, Vialli's team beat Hull City, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Gillingham, and Newcastle United.

2000-2010

Before Roman Abramovich's takeover of Chelsea in the summer of 2003, the Blues did reach another FA Cup final. In 2002, Chelsea lost 2-0 to Arsenal, thanks to goals from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg. Abramovich's takeover led to a flurry of big-money signings and the acquisition of talented Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho. They first won the competition under Mourinho in 2007, beating Manchester United 1-0 after extra-time in the final. This was the first FA Cup final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium after it opened.

In 2009 and 2010, Chelsea won the competition back-to-back for the first time in their history. Wins against Everton and Portsmouth under the management of Guss Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti, respectively, helped the Blues achieve this feat. In the period between 2000 and 2010, Chelsea won the FA Cup three times, which was the same amount as Arsenal in the decade.

2010-2020

Chelsea won the FA Cup a further two times this decade, beating Liverpool and United in 2012 and 2018, respectively. The 2-1 win against Liverpool was memorable for Petr Cech's remarkable one-handed save from an Andy Carroll header late in the game. Carroll had already scored earlier in the game to reduce the 2-0 buffer that Chelsea had built up. However, Cech was on hand to deny Carroll a second goal and ensure the game didn't go to extra-time.

In 2018, Chelsea beat United in the final, thanks to a 22nd minute penalty from Eden Hazard. This was the eighth FA Cup title for the Blues, and they have been unable to win the competition since. It was a relief for Antonio Conte's side, having lost in the final a year before to London rivals Arsenal. The decade ended with another final defeat to Arsenal, though, as Chelsea succumbed to a 2-1 defeat played behind closed doors at Wembley.

2020-Current

Chelsea will hope that the start of this decade is not a sign of things to come. They lost two consecutive FA Cup Finals to Leicester City and Liverpool before last season's 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the third round. The defeat to Leicester in 2021 was a shock for Blues fans, as they were the heavy favourites going into the game. Youri Tielemans' 63rd minute wonderstrike was enough for the Foxes to win their first ever FA Cup title.

Going into the 2022 final against Liverpool, Chelsea had not only lost their last two FA Cup finals but also lost the Carabao Cup final to the Reds on penalties in that same season. Thomas Tuchel's side had chances to win the game against Jurgen Klopp's team, but the game ended 0-0, resulting in another penalty shootout. Misses from Cesar Azpilicuera and Mason Mount proved to be decisive and meant that Chelsea had lost their third consecutive FA Cup final. In 2024, Mauricio Pochettino's Blues outfit bowed out at the semi-final stage at the hands of Manchester City, with a strike from Bernardo Silva enough to make the difference between the two teams.

Information gathered from Transfermarkt.

2024-04-24T05:35:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd