The FA Cup final has given us plenty of thrills and spills over the last two decades, and as one of the most highly anticipated matches on the football calendar, it’s no surprise that so many memories have been made in the famous fixture.
This year, Chelsea and Leicester City are preparing to do battle, with the west London side the favourites to get their hands on the FA Cup at Wembley, according in the football betting. Football fans all over the country will be hoping that the game can follow in the footsteps of some of the classic finals of times gone by. Read on, as we look back at five classic FA Cup finals from the last two decades.
2001 – Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal
This year marks 20 years since Michael Owen’s sensational double gave Liverpool a famous victory at the Millennium Stadium. It was a game that Arsenal dominated for large periods, creating chance after chance, and Freddie Ljungberg finally gave Arséne Wenger’s side the lead in the second half.
Arsenal probably thought they had done enough, but Owen equalised in the 83rd minute, striking low into the bottom corner. From there it was anyone’s game, and when a hopeful ball up field from Patrik Berger found Owen with just two minutes to play, Liverpool’s star striker made no mistake in latching onto it and firing past David Seaman to send the travelling Reds fans into delirium.
2005 – Liverpool (p) 3-3 West Ham United
Four years later, Liverpool were involved in yet more drama in an FA Cup final at the Millenium Stadium. In the final edition of the match to be held in Wales, West Ham cruised into an early two-goal lead thanks to an own goal from Jamie Carragher and a Dean Ashton strike. Liverpool got one back before half time through Djibril Cissé, before talismanic captain Steven Gerrard drew them level in the second half.
The real drama was yet to come, and after Paul Koncheskey’slofted cross evaded Pepe Reina and found the corner of the net, it looked like West Ham had done enough. However, with one swing of his right foot, Gerrard smashed a 35-yard volley past Shaka Hislop in injury time, sending the game to extra time.
Liverpool duly won on penalties, in what was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining FA Cup finals of all time.
2013 – Wigan Athletic 1-0 Manchester City
Although the 2013 FA Cup final was perhaps not the most rip-roaring game of football ever seen at Wembley Stadium, the outcome was certainly unexpected. Most had predictedmoney-bags Manchester City to comfortably defeat relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic, but Roberto Martínez’s men had other ideas.
Despite controlling large parts of the match, City couldn’t find the breakthrough, and throughout the match it felt as though one of those magical FA Cup moments was brewing. It duly arrived in the first minute of stoppage time, as Ben Watson’s towering header rippled the top corner of the net to grantWigan the most famous day in the club’s history.
2014 – Arsenal 3-2 Hull City
A year later, the final pitted two similarly ranked teams against each other. Arsenal were the strong favourites against Hull, but the east Yorkshire side didn’t read the script, racing into a 2-0 lead after just eight minutes, with defenders James Chester and Curtis Davies getting on the scoresheet.
It looked as though Arsenal had crumbled completely, but they managed to find some kind of rhythm, and when Santi Cazorla found the net from a free-kick, it was game on. Laurent Koscielny’s second-half equaliser forced the match into extra-time, before Aaron Ramsey’s poked finish broke Hull hearts and completed an impressive comeback from the Gunners.
2016 – Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United
The 2016 FA Cup final is perhaps best remembered for thoseAlan Pardew dance moves, but it was also a cracking spectacle, with Crystal Palace hoping to upset the football predictions from Betfair. They looked set to do just that, when Jason Puncheon’s goal in the 78th minute gave Palace the lead and sparked the famous jig from manager Pardew.
However, just a few minutes later, Juan Mata bagged an equaliser for Manchester United, and with the game poised on a knife-edge in extra time, Jesse Lingard popped up to score a sensational winner and earn United’s first FA Cup triumph in 12 years.
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It’s fair to say that if the 2021 FA Cup final brings anything like the entertainment witnessed in these five matches, we’ll be in for a real treat!
