Chelsea lacking quality and direction as magic moment settles FA Cup final loss to Man City | OneFootball

Blues have now lost their last seven domestic cup finals in a row

Cup finals are rarely a feast for the eyes, and so this game proved, with Manchester City coming out on top of an attritional affair at Wembley to lift their third FA Cup under Pep Guardiola.

City have been to Wembley 24 times under Pep Guardiola, and this was their fourth successive FA Cup final.

If they were fresh from resting players against Crystal Palace in the week, then they certainly harboured some Wembley fatigue, as they struggled to make their dominance count in the first-half.

Chelsea, by contrast, were just trying to keep things tight and frustrate City for as long as they could. It has been a brutal last couple of months for the Blues.

In a game where clear-cut chances were few and far between, it was always going to take a moment of magic to break the deadlock.

That moment arrived, just as Chelsea were starting to build some confidence, when Antoine Semenyo deftly flicked the ball past Robert Sanchez.

Semenyo had been the one causing all the issues for City, with Marc Cucurella tied up in knots by the Ghanaian’s ability to change pace.

So, it was therefore no surprise to see the former Bournemouth man settle the game by making the most out of Erling Haaland’s cut-back.

Moment of brillance: Antoine Semenyo

Getty

Chelsea had, to that point, done well to frustrate Man City and sensed there was something for them when Moises Caicedo saw his looping header flicked off the line.

This performance, though, was a sign of where Chelsea are at the moment. Low on confidence, lacking in quality and struggling for direction on and off the pitch.

They did not come to Wembley to impose their personality on City. They came with hope rather than expectation of an upset.

For a club of Chelsea’s stature, that is a damning indictment of how far they have fallen since the turn of the year.

The Blues were left looking in desperation to the referee for a decision that was never going to come their way.

Defeat here surely signals the end of Chelsea’s ambitions and leaves them still searching for a first win at Wembley since 2018.

Calum McFarlane’s interim tenure, meanwhile, ends in disappointment. He, however, can hardly be blamed for how Chelsea’s season has unravelled.

Attention turns to Tuesday and Chelsea’s meeting with Tottenham. They have failed to end the season on their terms, but they could yet serve a blow to their bitter rivals’ hopes of staying in the Premier League.

How it has come to this for one of English football’s most decorated clubs is a question Chelsea’s ownership will be left to mull over for some time