The 1994 FA Cup Final was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match that took place on 14 May 1994 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to determine the winner of the 1993–94 FA Cup. It was contested between Chelsea and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. Four goals in the second half from

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

(who scored twice),

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

and

Brian McClair Brian John McClair (born 8 December 1963) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a forward from 1980 to 1998, notable for his near 11-year spell at Manchester United where he won 14 trophies includ ...

gave Manchester United their 8th

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

title. It was the 49th FA Cup Final to be held since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Manchester United went into the Final as

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

champions, having won the title by eight points over

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. They were bidding to become only the fourth team of the 20th century to complete " the Double" and the first in their own history. Chelsea, on the other hand, were playing in their first FA Cup Final since 1970 and first major final since the 1972 Football League Cup Final; they also finished 14th in the Premier League.

Route to the final

Results of all 1993–94 FA Cup matches:

Chelsea

Chelsea entered the competition in the third round as a Premier League side. Chelsea's cup run started with an away tie against Barnet which was played at Stamford Bridge instead of Underhill. The Second Division side held Chelsea to a 0–0 draw. The replay saw Chelsea prevail 4–0 thanks to goals by Craig Burley, Gavin Peacock, Neil Shipperley and Mark Stein. In the fourth round, Chelsea were drawn at home to

side

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

. A 1–1 draw at home thanks to a goal by Gavin Peacock set up a replay at Hillsborough. The replay was won 3–1 thanks to goals by John Spencer, Craig Burley and Gavin Peacock. In the fifth round, the Blues were drawn away to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

of the First Division. Chelsea won 2–1 at Manor Ground with goals from John Spencer and Craig Burley, sending Chelsea into the quarter-finals of the competition. Oxford's Mike Ford also missed a late penalty as Chelsea hung on to progress to the next round. In the quarter-finals, Chelsea narrowly won 1–0 against First Division

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club' ...

. The semi-final which was held at the Old Wembley was played against First Division Luton Town. Two goals by Gavin Peacock sealed Chelsea's place in the 1994 FA Cup Final. This would be Chelsea's first appearance in an FA Cup Final in 24 years.

Manchester United

Also as a Premier League side, Manchester United entered the FA Cup in the third round of the competition. United started their run at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall family of file and graver manufacturers. ...

against Premier League

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. A second half goal by

sealed a 1–0 win. In the fourth round, United won 2–0 at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

with goals from

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came durin ...

and

either side of half time. In the fifth round, Manchester United were drawn at Premier League side Wimbledon. Three goals from Cantona,

Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship side Reading. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, sta ...

and

Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. As a player, he played as a full-back from 1983 to 2004. Irwin is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester ...

confirmed the Red Devils' place in the quarter-finals. Manchester United won 3–1 against First Division

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

with a goal from Mark Hughes and a brace by Andrei Kanchelskis. In the semi-final at Wembley, United met relegation-threatened

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

(a repeat of the 1990 FA Cup semi-final). After a goalless draw, the Latics took the lead in extra time thanks to

Neil Pointon Neil Geoffrey Pointon (born 28 November 1964) is an English former professional footballer. Pointon was a left-back who is perhaps best remembered for playing for Everton, Manchester City and Oldham Athletic. Career Pointon began his career a ...

. A 119th minute goal by Mark Hughes forced a replay at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest a ...

. In the replay, United won 4–1 thanks to goals by Irwin, Kanchelskis, Robson and Giggs. This set up a first FA Cup Final for Manchester United since the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

match against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

Match

Summary

First half

The match took place on a rainy May afternoon, and, in the first half, Chelsea were considered the better team. Gavin Peacock had the best chance of the opening 45 minutes when his half-volley hit the crossbar in the 25th minute.

Second half

In the second half, Manchester United took control of the match with three goals in the space of nine minutes, with the first two goals coming from the penalty spot. The first penalty came after a poor challenge by Eddie Newton on Denis Irwin with Eric Cantona scoring the subsequent penalty in the bottom right corner, sending Dmitri Kharine the wrong way. The second penalty was considered more controversial after

Sinclair Sinclair may refer to: Places * Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia * Sinclair, Iowa * Sinclair, West Virginia * Sinclair, Wyoming * Sinclair Mills, British Columbia * Sinclair Township, Minnesota * Sinclair, Manitoba People * Sin ...

had barged Andrei Kanchelskis. Cantona stepped up to take the penalty, opting for the same corner as the first penalty and again sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Mark Hughes wrapped up the match for the Red Devils with a low finish to the bottom left corner after a slip by Sinclair. A fourth goal was scored in the second minute of stoppage time when Mark Hughes played a through ball to Paul Ince to leave him one on one with the goalkeeper. After going around Kharine in the Chelsea goal, Ince squared the ball for

to tap the ball into an empty net.

Details

Statistics

Post-match

By winning the final, Manchester United became only the fourth team in the 20th century to win both a League title and FA Cup in the same season. The victory sealed a joint record eighth FA Cup victory for Manchester United, pulling level with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

in the all-time rankings. Referee

David Elleray David Roland Elleray, (born 3 September 1954), is an English former football referee who officiated in the Football League, Premier League and for FIFA. As of September 2021 he held the position of Technical Director at the IFAB. During his ca ...

has since stated that he regrets giving the second penalty to Manchester United, stating "It was my big game and I made a disappointing decision." Elleray explained post-match that he had a better view of Sinclair's challenge than the linesman. Chelsea, despite losing their first FA Cup Final since they won the trophy 24 years earlier, qualified for the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as United had also won the Premier League title and would be competing in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. As a result of the League and cup victory for the Red Devils, Manchester United qualified for the

1994 FA Charity Shield The 1994 FA Charity Shield was the 72nd FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 14 August 1994 at Wembley Stadium and contested ...

. United faced the runners-up of the 1993–94 Premier League season

. Goals by Eric Cantona and Paul Ince saw United win the match 2–0.

References

External links

Game facts
at soccerbase.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1994 Fa Cup Final FA Cup Finals Fa Cup Final 1994 Fa Cup Final 1994

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

1994 sports events in London May 1994 sports events in the United Kingdom