 The match was played at Wembley Stadium. | |||||||
| Event | 2017–18 FA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 19 May 2018 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) | ||||||
| Referee | Michael Oliver (Northumberland) | ||||||
| Attendance | 87,647 | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny | ||||||
The 2018 FA Cup final was an association football match between Manchester United and Chelsea on 19 May 2018 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. It was the 137th FA Cup final overall and was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup), organised by the Football Association (FA). It was the second successive final for Chelsea following their defeat by Arsenal the previous year. The teams had met twice before in the FA Cup Final, winning one each between them. The first was in 1994, which Manchester United won 4–0, and most recently in 2007, when Chelsea – then managed by the incumbent Manchester United boss José Mourinho – won 1–0 after extra time.
Michael Oliver refereed the match which was notable for being the first FA Cup Final to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and President of the FA, was absent as he was attending his brother's wedding. The trophy was instead presented by Jackie Wilkins, the widow of former Manchester United and Chelsea player Ray Wilkins, who died in April 2018.
The match was played in sunny conditions in front of a Wembley crowd of 87,647. After a relatively even start to the match, on 21 minutes, Chelsea's Eden Hazard was brought down in the Manchester United box and Oliver awarded a penalty. Hazard scored from the spot to make it 1–0 to Chelsea, a lead they maintained to half time. Manchester United dominated the second half, and saw a 63rd-minute goal from Alexis Sánchez ruled out for offside after being referred to VAR. The match ended 1–0 to Chelsea who won the FA Cup for the eighth time.
As winners, Chelsea qualified for the group stage of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, although they had qualified for that phase already via their league position. Chelsea also earned the right to play 2017–18 Premier League champions Manchester City for the 2018 FA Community Shield.