A moment of brilliance from Antoine Semenyo proved decisive as Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final, securing their first triumph in the competition since 2023 despite reaching two finals in the intervening years.

Pep Guardiola’s side dominated possession early on and carved out several openings, with Semenyo seeing two efforts blocked, while Omar Marmoush failed to make clean contact with the rebound from one of those chances.

Rodri also went close with a header that was blocked by João Pedro, as City continued to circulate the ball confidently without seriously testing Robert Sánchez.

At the other end, João Pedro had a rare opportunity for Chelsea, but Abdukodir Khusanov tracked him well and the forward slipped as he struck, allowing James Trafford to collect comfortably.

Matheus Nunes thought he had set up Erling Haaland for the opening goal in the 27th minute, but the effort was ruled out for offside after the right-back was found to have strayed before Semenyo’s pass.

Semenyo then attempted to dribble inside Marc Cucurella but fired his shot well wide, while Chelsea enjoyed a spell of possession of their own without threatening the City goal.

Just before half-time, Haaland produced the game’s first major save, forcing Sánchez into a sharp reaction stop from a first-time strike.

After the break, Pep Guardiola introduced Rayan Cherki, who made an immediate impact by setting up an early chance for Nico O’Reilly, whose cross was met by Semenyo but headed over.

Rodri was also alert at the other end, clearing Moisés Caicedo’s header after James Trafford had needlessly conceded a corner, while Wesley Fofana failed to direct Reece James’ cross towards goal as Chelsea began to grow in confidence.

However, it was the blue side of Wembley that struck first in the 72nd minute, when Erling Haaland’s cutback was met by an inventive flick from Antoine Semenyo, which found its way inside the far post to break the deadlock.

Enzo Fernández came agonisingly close to forcing an immediate equaliser, but Manchester City held their advantage as Robert Sánchez went on to deny both Matheus Nunes and Rayan Cherki.

In the end, the Cityzens did enough to claim victory in their second Wembley final of the season, lifting the FA Cup for the eighth time in their history and matching Chelsea’s total, while also setting the tone perfectly for the Premier League run-in.

For Chelsea, it was another painful Wembley defeat, as they suffered a fourth loss in their last four FA Cup final appearances.