Aaron Ramsey’s header won the FA Cup for Arsenal as Chelsea missed out on the Double. It was a disappointing end to a fantastic season for the Premier League champions, who had Victor Moses sent off in the second half. It also meant John Terry missed out on bringing his Blues career to an end by lifting another trophy.
Chelsea got off to the worst possible start, going behind to a controversial goal after just four minutes.
After Alexis Sanchez used his arm to block N’Golo Kante’s attempted clearance, the ball ricocheted towards Ramsey, who was in an offside position. The flag duly went up, but Sanchez continued into the penalty area, Ramsey stood aside, and Sanchez fired past keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Amid confusion, referee Anthony Taylor consulted his assistant and the goal was allowed to stand.
Chelsea were fortunate not to be further behind by half-time. Blues skipper Gary Cahill cleared off the line to deny Mesut Ozil, and Courtois saved from Danny Welbeck, who also headed against the post. They improved after the break and David Ospina prevented an equaliser by saving from Moses at close range.
When Moses went down in the penalty area midway through the second half, Taylor saw it as a dive and the Chelsea wide-man was dismissed for a second yellow card. It left his team facing an uphill task.
But the champions equalised on 76 minutes. Willian, on as a substitute, delivered the ball from the right and Diego Costa scored with a scuffed effort keeper Ospina – selected ahead of former Chelsea man Petr Cech – got his hand to but was unable to keep out of the net.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger responded by sending on Olivier Giroud, who made an immediate impact, finding space on the left and crossing for Ramsey to restore Arsenal’s lead less than two minutes after the equaliser. Ospina then atoned for Costa’s goal by producing a fine save to deny the Spain striker, and Ozil hit the post late on.
It meant there was no fairytale end to Chelsea’s wonderful season or Terry’s wonderful Blues career. A week after lifting the Premier League title, he hoped to bow out by also lifting the FA Cup. But it was Arsenal’s day.