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Chelsea will face Manchester City in the 2025–26 FA Cup final after knocking out Leeds United in Sunday's semifinal clash.
Enzo Fernández put aside recent off-field controversy to nod in the match's first goal for the rudderless Blues in the club's first fixture since Liam Rosenior's abrupt departure on Wednesday. The squad guided by caretaker manager Calum McFarlane had to weather a fierce second-half push from the Yorkshire side but held firm to cap a turbulent week with a memorable triumph.
Manchester City secured their return to Wembley with a comeback win over second-division Southampton on Saturday. Finn Azaz stunned the Citizens — and perhaps even himself — with a breathtaking opener in the 79th minute, briefly sparking visions of yet another upset in what has undeniably been a spectacular edition of the world's oldest cup competition.
Those hopes lasted just three minutes before Jérémy Doku leveled for Pep Guardiola's men. Nico González then fired in his own stunning strike to completely overshadow Azaz's brilliant effort and set City on course for a potential domestic treble.
Guardiola cautioned that such an achievement was still "far, far away," and with good reason. Arsenal will do everything in their power to deny City the Premier League title, while Chelsea will certainly put up a stern challenge in the FA Cup final. After all, McFarlane already tested himself against the greatest manager of his generation and came away with a 1–1 draw at the Etihad back in January.
When Is the 2025–26 FA Cup Final?
The FA Cup final was once the traditional curtain-raiser to the close of each English domestic season, taking place the weekend after the top flight concluded but before European honors were awarded. That is no longer the case.
For the second consecutive year, the Football Association's marquee fixture will be held a week before the Premier League wraps up. To preserve a sense of tradition, no top-flight matches will be scheduled on the same day — Saturday, May 16 — with the bulk of that weekend's league fixtures moved to the following Sunday, before every club kicks off simultaneously one week later on May 24.
Neither FA Cup finalist has any European competition left to contend with, meaning full focus will be directed toward their day out at Wembley.
Wembley Regulars Out to Avoid More Heartbreak
As Guardiola was eager to highlight, Manchester City became the first club in FA Cup history to reach four consecutive finals. "We did it again," he said with a grin. "We are in the final again." According to Guardiola, "Now it's easy." The difficult task of reaching the showpiece event has already been accomplished. However, things haven't always gone City's way at this stage of the tournament.
The perennial finalists were defeated by Crystal Palace last May, a year after falling to Erik ten Hag's struggling Manchester United side. At the time of that 2024 final, United sat lower in the league (eighth) than the legendary 'Crazy Gang' Wimbledon team of 1988 (seventh), who pulled off the monumental upset of beating champions Liverpool. City had defeated United in the 2023 final.
City enter the 2026 final as favorites once again, but history suggests that means very little. In fact, should Guardiola suffer a third consecutive Wembley defeat, City would become the first club since Chelsea (2020–22) to lose three FA Cup finals in a row.
The Blues have not returned to the Wembley showpiece since that final loss in the same sequence against Liverpool on penalties. Chelsea's most recent triumph in the competition dates back to 2018, a narrow 1–0 win over Manchester United. Serial winner Antonio Conte was prowling the touchline for the Blues on that sun-drenched afternoon at Wembley, and McFarlane now has the opportunity to replicate that achievement in what would be only his seventh match as a senior manager.