TOP FIVE: the greatest FA Cup finals of all time | OneFootball

English football’s showpiece fixture returns tomorrow when managerless Chelsea take on Manchester City in the 154th FA Cup final at Wembley, with European football potentially on the line for Callum McFarlane’s side.

Not only that, but it could prove to be the perfect sendoff for Pep Guardiola, whose future at the seven-time winners in the competition has been rumored to nearing its end for several months while the Blues search for Liam Rosenior’s replacement.

As with every FA Cup final, it is sure to be a memorable day for the eventual winners. But the following finals will still have stuck in the memory long after the two sides do battle this afternoon. FromTheSpot discusses which ones they are.

Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City (2024/25)

We know, and we hear you. But recency bias aside, last year’s final delivered one of the greatest stories in the history of the world’s most famous cup competition as Oliver Glasner brought home a first major trophy for the south London side.

It was a textbook Palace goal that won it, too, as Eberechi Eze rounded off a flowing counter attack by meeting the pinpoint cross of marauding right-back Daniel Muñoz to seize the lead inside just 16 minutes.

What was most impressive about Palace’s victory, though, was being able to keep out Guardiola and his team for so long. This was a team that scored 17 goals on the way to the final, the most of any side and four more than the first-time winners.

The rest, as they so often say, is history. The Eagles followed up their maiden FA Cup win with a Community Shield the following season, beating defending champions Liverpool 3-2 on penalties with the game tied at 2-2 after extra time.

Better yet, they could give Austrian head coach Glasner the best ending to his time at Selhurst Park by adding a third piece of silverware to their cabinet in two years with a victory over Rayo Vallecano in the Europa Conference League final later this month.

The 2024/25 final turned the page onto an illustrious new chapter for Crystal Palace, one that’s still not at its end.

Liverpool (p) 3-3 West Ham (2005/06)

Martin Tyler’s words still reverberate in fans’ heads time and time again.

“Four added minutes…”, before Steven Gerrard picks up the ball 40 yards from goal. Liverpool are beyond desperate for a leveller against West Ham to send the game to extra time. His eyes glued to the ball, half of Wembley draws its breath.

“And GERRARD! OH! OHHHHHH!”

Understandably, the legendary commentator was initially short of any words that could do the moment any justice whatsoever. Gerrard slammed the ball across the turf and into the bottom left, past Shaka Hislop.

Renowned for his piledrivers, this one was just something else. Although the FA Cup has seen as many goals in the final since, when Manchester City dismantled Watford 6-0 in 2019, it hasn’t seen one where both teams scored at least three.

That being said, the art of a nigh impossible comeback was something that the Reds were making quite a habit of after making up a three-goal deficit against Inter Milan in the Champions League final known by many as the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’.

It was the perfect final before returning to the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium, and the type that haven’t come often since.

Wigan Athletic 1-0 Manchester City (2012/13)

Fear not Manchester City fans, this is the final time that a 1-0 defeat in the final crops up on our list.

Which one outranks the other as the greater final is debatable, though, as Wigan’s triumph in the 2012/13 season was made all the more memorable by their contrasting fortune in the Premier League.

Led by Roberto Martinez at the time, the Addicks became the only club in English football history to win the FA Cup and experience the bitter taste of relegation all in the same season.

It was central midfielder Ben Watson who rose highest at the near post to steer the ball over England international Joe Hart and into the net from a corner and cause one of the greatest cup upsets of all time, at the biggest stage of the competition.

Blackpool 4-3 Bolton Wanderers (1952/53)

Goals are what the neutral yearns for on the big occasion, and there hasn’t been a final with more goals since Blackpool’s bonkers victory against Bolton to seal their only ever FA Cup triumph.

It also put an end of several years of hurt, after the Tangerines lost in two finals over the past six years leading up to their memorable day at old Wembley, but isn’t the main reason why it’s that memorable. Rather, it’s the record it holds.

Tied with Blackburn Rovers’ 6-1 thrashing of Sheffied Wednesday in 1890, Manchester City came close against Watford in 2019, coming just a goal short of equaling the record.

With football’s shift to progressive yet more patient positional play, pioneered by the genius minds of managers like Guardiola, it’s uncertain whether we’ll see nearly as many goals flying in at either end between two heavyweights like City and Chelsea.

Arsenal 3-2 Hull City (2013/14)

Then there ‘s the record which the big six and beyond all pursue in the FA Cup: the most wins.

Arsenal wouldn’t seize the lead of the all-time winners table until they beat Chelsea 2-1 inside an empty Wembley in 2020, but what set them well on their way was the remarkable comeback against underdogs Hull City six year prior under Arsene Wenger.

Aaron Ramsey’s winner in extra time after Santi Cazorla’s inspired free kick and a messy finish from Lorient Koscielny also ended the Gunners’ nine-year wait for a trophy, which looked nailed on to continue with the Tigers 2-0 up inside eight minutes.

A comeback, one of the best final goals, and two reversals of the script, this final pretty much had it all. There hasn’t been a greater, more action-packed nor memorable FA Cup final since.

Did we miss one out? Let us know in the comments, and find coverage of this afternoon’s final between Manchester City and Chelsea at Wembley from 14:00 (GMT) on fromthespot.co.uk and our OneFootball page.