 Wembley Stadium, the venue of the match | |||||||
| Event | 2018–19 FA Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 18 May 2019 (2019-05-18) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) | ||||||
| Referee | Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 85,854 | ||||||
←2018 2020 → | |||||||
The2019 FA Cup final was anassociation football match betweenManchester City andWatford on 18 May 2019 atWembley Stadium inLondon, England, and the 138thFA Cup final. It was Manchester City's eleventh appearance at the FA Cup final and Watford's second.
Kevin Friend was thereferee for the match played in front of 85,854 spectators. Manchester City dominated the early stages of the final. In the 21st minuteAbdoulaye Doucouré's shot struckVincent Kompany's arm in the Manchester Citypenalty area, but after consultation with thevideo assistant referee (VAR), Friend declined to award apenalty and showed Doucouré the firstyellow card of the game for his subsequent protests. In the 26th minute the deadlock was broken asDavid Silva scored from aRaheem Sterlingheader. Twelve minutes later Manchester City doubled their lead afterGabriel Jesus side-footed the ball pastKiko Femenía andHeurelho Gomes in the Watford goal. At 61 minutes City further extended their lead to 3–0 with a goal fromsubstituteKevin De Bruyne from close range. Seven minutes later Jesus made it 4–0 after taking the ball on the counter-attack and shooting past Gomes. In the 81st minute Sterling scored from aBernardo Silvacross to make it 5–0, before scoring again in the 87th minute after his initial shot was pushed onto the post by Gomes. The match ended 6–0 to Manchester City: it was only the third time that a team had scored six goals in an FA Cup final, and the margin of victory is the joint-largest in an FA Cup final, equallingBury's 6–0 win overDerby County in1903.
De Bruyne was namedman of the match. The win completed adomestic treble for Manchester City, who had already won theLeague Cup and thePremier League that season, which at the time was unprecedented by any English men's team. As they had already qualified for theUEFA Champions League, City's continental qualification place for winning the FA Cup went to the team that finished seventh in the league (Wolverhampton Wanderers), who entered thesecond qualifying round ofUEFA Europa League.
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Rotherham United (H) | 7–0 |
| 4th | Burnley (H) | 5–0 |
| 5th | Newport County (A) | 4–1 |
| QF | Swansea City (A) | 3–2 |
| SF | Brighton & Hove Albion (N) | 1–0 |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) =Neutral venue | ||
As aPremier League club,Manchester City started in the third round where they were drawn againstChampionship teamRotherham United at theCity of Manchester Stadium. In what Neil Johnston of theBBC described as a "powerful attacking performance", City dominated their opponents and won 7–0, with goals fromRaheem Sterling,Phil Foden, anown goal fromSemi Ajayi,Gabriel Jesus,Riyad Mahrez,Nicolás Otamendi, andLeroy Sané.[1] It was Rotherham's heaviest ever FA Cup defeat, but their managerPaul Warne was philosophical: "It was a difficult day but we were playing against a world-class team. I don't think we embarrassed ourselves".[1] In the fourth round, City were drawn at home once again, this time against fellow Premier League teamBurnley. In a display which Burnley managerSean Dyche called "clinical", City won 5–0 with goals from Jesus,Bernardo Silva,Kevin De Bruyne,Sergio Agüero and an own goal fromKevin Long.[2]
In the fifth round, City playedLeague Two sideNewport County away atRodney Parade inNewport, Wales. Once again, City dominated their opponents, and although the first half ended goalless, they won 4–1 courtesy of two goals from Foden, and one each from Sané and Mahrez, withPádraig Amond scoring the consolation for Newport.[3] In the quarter-finals, City drew Championship teamSwansea City. Played at theLiberty Stadium, Swansea were 2–0 ahead at half time, but a goal from Silva and an own goal fromKristoffer Nordfeldt were followed by a controversial late winner from Agüero. Video replays demonstrated that the striker wasoffside, but as thevideo assistant referee (VAR) system was not in use at the Liberty Stadium, the goal was allowed to stand, and the Manchester club progressed with a 3–2 victory.[4] In the semi-final, played atWembley Stadium as aneutral venue, Manchester City faced Premier League sideBrighton & Hove Albion. City progressed to the final after a 1–0 win with a Jesus goal from a De Bruyne cross in the fourth minute.[5]
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Woking (A) | 2–0 |
| 4th | Newcastle United (A) | 2–0 |
| 5th | Queens Park Rangers (A) | 1–0 |
| QF | Crystal Palace (H) | 2–1 |
| SF | Wolverhampton Wanderers (N) | 3–2 |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) =Neutral venue | ||
As a Premier League club,Watford also started in the third round where they facedNational League South sideWoking away at theKingfield Stadium. There were 110 places in theEnglish football league system between the clubs, and Watford dominated the match. They won 2–0 with goals fromWill Hughes andTroy Deeney.[6] In the next round Watford played fellow Premier League sideNewcastle United away atSt James' Park. A total of eighteen changes were made to the starting line-ups of the two teams. After a goalless first half,Andre Gray opened the scoring for Watford, andIsaac Success' strike ininjury time ensured Watford's progress with a 2–0 win.[7]
In the fifth round Watford played Championship sideQueens Park Rangers away atLoftus Road. Watford won 1–0 whenÉtienne Capoue scored with his side's only shot on target of the game, just before half time.[8] In the quarter-final, they played Premier LeagueCrystal Palace at home atVicarage Road. Watford took the lead mid-way through the first half with a Capoue strike, butMichy Batshuayi levelled the score in the 62nd minute. Gray, a second-halfsubstitute, then scored the winning goal within two minutes of his introduction, ensuring a 2–1 Watford victory and progression to the semi-final at Wembley.[9] There they faced Premier LeagueWolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves). Aheader fromMatt Doherty and avolley fromRaúl Jiménez put Wolves into a 2–0 lead beforeGerard Deulofeu reduced the deficit with what BBC reporterPhil McNulty described as "an audacious angled flick" with eleven minutes of the game remaining. Four minutes into injury time, Deeney levelled the score from thepenalty spot, forcing the game intoextra time. Deulofeu then scored his second in the 104th minute to ensure Watford's progression to the final with a 3–2 victory.[10]
This was Manchester City's eleventhFA Cup Final and their first since losing 1–0 toWigan Athletic in the2013 final. City had won the FA Cup on five previous occasions, the most recent being the2011 final when they beatStoke City 1–0.[11] Watford qualified for their first FA Cup Final since1984 when they lost 2–0 toEverton.[11][12] In the two meetings between the clubs during the2018–19 Premier League, City won 2–1 at Vicarage Road in December 2018 and 3–1 at the City of Manchester Stadium. Watford had beaten Manchester City once in the previous seventeen meetings, including a losing streak of ten games going back to 2013.[13] The league season ended with City as champions and Watford eleventh, forty-eight points behind.[14] It was City's second cup final of the season: in February they had won the2018–19 League Cup againstChelsea in apenalty shootout.[15] This meant that City were aiming to become the first club in English football history to win thedomestic treble which came into existence with the creation of theLeague Cup in the1960–61 season.[16]
The referee for the match wasKevin Friend representing theLeicestershire and Rutland County Football Association. He was promoted to theSelect Group in 2009 and had previously officiated over Wembley matches including the2012 FA Community Shield and the2013 Football League Cup Final. Friend'sassistants were Constantine Hatzidakis (Kent County Football Association) and Matthew Wilkes (Birmingham County Football Association). The fourth official wasGraham Scott (Berks & Bucks Football Association), and the reserve assistant referee was Edward Smart (Kent County Football Association).Andre Marriner (Birmingham County Football Association) was the video assistant referee and was assisted by Harry Lennard (Sussex County Football Association).[17] Both clubs received an allocation of approximately 28,000 tickets. For adults, these were priced£45, £70, £115 and £145, with concessions in place. 14,000 tickets were distributed through the "football family", which included volunteers representing County FAs, FA-affiliated leagues, clubs and charities. Manchester City supporters were seated on the east side of the ground, and Watford's on the west.[18] The match was broadcast live in the UK onBBC One andBT Sport.[17] The traditional performance of the hymn "Abide with Me" was by theBand of the Scots Guards and a mixed choir. Former playersLuther Blissett (Watford) andTony Book (Manchester City) brought out thetrophy before the teams were introduced toPrince William, Duke of Cambridge.[19]
Watford left-backJosé Holebas wassent off on the last day of the Premier League season in a 4–1 home defeat byWest Ham United. The resulting one-match suspension would have ruled him out of the final but, on 13 May, the red card was rescinded, clearing him for selection.[20] Deulofeu had recovered from adead leg sustained against West Ham.[21] The final was also slated to have been the Watford goalkeeperHeurelho Gomes' last professional football match, after he announced his intention to retire at the end of the season.[22] He was selected in preference toBen Foster, andAdrian Mariappa replacedChristian Kabasele in Watford's defence.[21] Manchester City were still without long-term injuredBenjamin Mendy but bothFernandinho and De Bruyne were available for selection,[21] the former having recovered from a knee injury while the latter was back from damaging his hamstring.[23] Jesus was preferred up front with Agüero starting on the bench, along with De Bruyne.[21] Watford played in their standard homekit of black and yellow stripes, black shorts and black socks while City's players wore light blue shirts, white shorts and white socks.[21]
The match waskicked off by Watford just after 5 p.m. on 18 May 2019 in front of a Wembley crowd of 85,854. The first chance of the game fell toAymeric Laporte on 4 minutes whose long-range shot flew over Watford's crossbar. Three minutes later, Bernardo Silva made a run but his pass into the Watford penalty area was intercepted byCraig Cathcart. In the 10th minute, Mahrez won acorner for City which was cleared by Watford who went on the counter-attack. A cross from Deulofeu foundRoberto Pereyra whose shot was saved by the Manchester City goalkeeperEderson. Bernardo Silva then saw his strike saved by Gomes two minutes later and on 16 minutes, City won another corner off Holebas. Gomes failed to gather theset piece but Watford cleared the ball.[19]
In the 21st minute, Pereyra passed toAbdoulaye Doucouré in the Manchester City box, whose shot struckVincent Kompany's arm. After consultation with the VAR, Friend declined to award a penalty and showed Doucouré the firstyellow card of the game for his subsequent protests. Two minutes later, Sterling was unable to capitalise on a Gomes handling error before Jesus' shot was deflected for a corner by Mariappa. Capoue cleared the ball out to Deulofeu on thebreak, but Ederson was quick to react and clear the danger. In the 26th minute the deadlock was broken, as David Silva scored his first goal in 28 games, shooting across Gomes from a Sterling header. On 33 minutes, Mahrez passed to Jesus who was prevented from shooting by a Mariappatackle. Five minutes later Manchester City doubled their lead. Bernardo Silva played a ball into a space on the left side of the six-yard box for Jesus who side-footed pastKiko Femenía and Gomes in the Watford goal. A minute later, Gomes pushed a Mahrez shot away and in the 44th minute, Watford's Hughes struck from distance and the ball was deflected for a corner. The set piece came to nothing and the half ended with Manchester City holding a 2–0 lead.[24]
No changes were made to either side during half time, and Watford kicked the second half off. They had the first chance, after 47 minutes, when Deeney found Pereyra who chose to try to find Hughes instead of shooting. Sterling then found Jesus whose shot from a tight angle was saved by Gomes.Oleksandr Zinchenko then crossed for Jesus who headed the ball into the Watford net but the goal was disallowed for offside. Watford then had a brief spell of pressure but failed to capitalise. In the 55th minute, Manchester City made their first substitution of the afternoon with De Bruyne coming on to replace Mahrez.İlkay Gündoğan's corner on 57 minutes found Laporte whose header was wide. Watford responded with Deulofeu picking up a long ball but his shot was mishit wide of the far post. David Silva was then shown a yellow card in the 60th minute for afoul on Hughes.[24] On 61 minutes City further extended their lead to 3–0 with a goal from De Bruyne. Jesus beat Pereyra in the air and passed to De Bruyne, who took the ball past Gomes and scored from close range.[21]
In the 65th minute, Watford made a double substitution with Deulofeu and Pereyra coming off, to be replaced by Gray and Success. Three minutes later, Jesus made it 4–0 after taking the ball on the counter-attack and shooting past Gomes. De Bruyne then shot high and wide in the 70th minute before Sané was brought on for Gündogan and Watford's Hughes was replaced byTom Cleverley. After a period of City possession,John Stones then came on for David Silva, and in the 80th minute, Kiko was booked for a foul on Sané. In the 81st minute, Sterling scored from a Bernardo Silva cross to make it 5–0, before scoring again in the 87th minute after his initial shot was pushed onto the post by Gomes. Two minutes into injury time, Stones' strike from around 10 yards (9.1 m) was saved by Gomes and Friend blew the final whistle, ending the match with Manchester City winning 6–0.[21]
| Manchester City | 6–0 | Watford |
|---|---|---|
| [19][21][24][25] |
          Manchester City |    Watford |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[17] | Match rules[26]
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_(cropped).jpg)
| Manchester City | Watford | |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 23 | 11 |
| Shots on target | 12 | 2 |
| Corner kicks | 13 | 1 |
| Fouls committed | 8 | 5 |
| Possession | 66% | 34% |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Pep Guardiola, the winning manager, was elated: "It was an incredible final for us and we have finished an incredible year ... To all the people at the club a big congratulations, especially the players because they are the reason why we have won these titles".[21] His opposite number,Javi Gracia said: "we knew before the game we had to play the perfect game ... We started well and we created the best chance after 10 minutes with Roberto Pereyra but after that they dominated. They were better, congratulations to them and we will try again".[21] De Bruyne was named as theman of the match.[21] Kompany, the City captain, said: "As soon as we scored the two goals and they had to come at us and press ... It made it easier for us. It wasn't as easy as the score suggests".[21] The day after the game, Kompany said that the match was his final game for the club as he would be leaving after eleven years to become theplayer-manager ofAnderlecht.[27] Watford's Gomes decided against retirement and instead signed a one-year extension to his contract.[28]
Daniel Taylor writing inThe Guardian described the game as a "cakewalk" for City.[29] City scored 26 goals during the season's cup campaign, the most by any FA Cup-winning team since the1925–26 FA Cup.[25] It was also the largest margin of victory in an FA Cup Final since the1903 final which ended with the same scoreline,Bury beatingDerby County.[25] Manchester City became the first English men's team to win a domestictreble, having already won the EFL Cup and Premier League that season.[30]
Winning the FA Cup meant that Manchester City qualified to playLiverpool, the Premier League runners-up, in theCommunity Shield in August which they won on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[31] City's victory meant that Wolves went into the second qualifying round of the2019–20 UEFA Europa League having finished seventh in the Premier League whileManchester United went directly into the group stages.[19]
