Chelsea v Man United: 5 great FA Cup meetings between the pair
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You’d be hard-pressed to find a more storied and enticing cup tie than Chelsea v Manchester United.
The pair have faced off in two Emirates FA Cup finals, produced an eight-goal thriller and much more, in the world’s oldest cup competition.
So hop in the time machine with Ladbrokes News, as we take you back through five of the best FA Cup meetings between this pair.
Chelsea 2-0 Man United (FA Cup Sixth Round, March 4 1950)
This victory helped the Blues reach the Semi-Finals for just the second time in their history. Talented Scot Bobby Campbell flicked home to send the hordes of rattle-waving Chelsea fans into rapture, before a string of great saves from keeper Harry Medhurst helped preserve the lead.
But, with United looking certain to eventually break the deadlock, Chelsea counter, and score a superb second with a stunner from Roy Bentley. And with that result comes the first sign of Chelsea’s 1950s rise to prominence, which culminated in Bentley and co. winning the league title in 1955.
Chelsea 0-4 Man United (FA Cup Final, May 14 1994)
The scoreline may suggest United cruised to victory in this one, but it was the Blues who had the better of a goalless first-half, with Gavin Peacock agonisingly close to opening the scoring for the west London outfit.
However, the second period was all about United – and in particular, the talismanic Eric Cantona. The Frenchman netted two ice-cool penalties in the 60th and 66th minute respectively – the first coming from a comically clumsy challenge from Eddie Newton on Denis Irwin.
From there, Mark Hughes slotted home a neat strike before Dmitri Kharine was rounded in a classy team move for a fourth in injury-time – finished off by the experienced Brian McClair – as United chalked up their first ever league and cup double in imperious fashion.
Chelsea 3-5 Man United (FA Cup Third Round, January 4 1998)
Fans at Stamford Bridge certainly got their money’s worth in this late ‘90s cracker. But it could very well have been embarrassing for the hosts, with United taking an incredible 5-0 lead, kick-started by a clinical David Beckham double.
Andy Cole made it 3-0 with a sensational solo goal, before a cheeky celebration in front of the home fans. And the then-FA Cup holders were in for more punishment as Cole doubled his tally and Teddy Sheringham nodded home a fifth.
But, amazingly, the drama wasn’t over. Graeme Le Saux grabbed a goal, before a Gianluca Vialli double dragged the hosts back into the contest in the latter stages. But United held on to escape an embarrassing collapse.
Chelsea 1-0 Man United (FA Cup Final, May 19 2007)
After an exhausting slog for the Premier League title, it’s fair to say that both of this pair struggled to play their finest football at Wembley – but this tightly-matched encounter proved an engrossing one for neutrals and a nail-biting affair for fans of both the Blues and Red Devils.
In the end, it took 118 minutes for the deadline to be broken, as Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard played a neat one-two, with the Ivorian finishing things off by prodding the ball past the helpless Edwin van der Sar, and delivering Jose Mourinho’s first ever FA Cup title in the process.
Man United 2-2 Chelsea (FA Cup Sixth Round, March 10 2013)
The hosts seemed to be cruising to a cup victory at Old Trafford, and all set for a trip to Wembley. But the visitors pulled their socks up and produced some classy passing football to secure a Replay – thanks in large part to current Man United favourite Juan Mata.
Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney fired Sir Alex Ferguson’s men into a 2-0 lead in the opening 11 minutes, but Chelsea fought back in style, with Juan Mata setting up Oscar for an eye-catching opener, before Ramires breezed through the Red Devils’ backline to make it 2-2.
The Blues missed a couple of fine chances to win the game – but no matter, for fans of the Stamford Bridge outfit. They won the Replay 1-0, thanks to a superb flick from Demba Ba.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
