1-0 to the…everyone: Emirates FA Cup Final’s most common score
Published:
Two of English football’s giants face off in the Emirates FA Cup Final on Saturday, as Arsenal face Chelsea. But while the trophy is up for grabs, there’s a strong chance that whoever lifts it will have won the game 1-0.
And speaking of 1-0’s, it’s time to take a trip through the history of this final’s most popular score, and these two sides are no strangers to it…
We’ve seen 43 FA Cup Finals end with that scoreline – beginning with the first of all time, as Wanderers beat Royal Engineers at The Oval way back in 1872. That came due to a strike from goalkeeper-cum-full-back Morton Betts – sporting one of the game’s finest moustaches in the process.
Fast forward to 1927, and Arsenal faced a first FA Cup Final in their history, against Cardiff City. The result?
Yep. 1-0. Though it wasn’t a happy day for Gooners.
They were beaten by the first (and to this date only) Welsh winners of the competition. And it was far from the last time they were to lose this final by that scoreline.
Seven of the Gunners’ 19 appearances in the Emirates FA Cup showpiece have been one-goal affairs, and five of those have been defeats. One of those ranks as one of the biggest shocks of this fixture, as second-tier West Ham United defeated Terry Neill’s Arsenal side in 1980.
However, it hasn’t been all bad for the North Londoners when it comes to 1-0 finals. In fact, the most recent one involving Arsene Wenger’s side came in this competition, as they defeated Southampton 1-0 at Millennium Stadium in…Cardiff.
As for Chelsea, they’ve become quite the 1-0 specialists in the Emirates FA Cup Final.
Three of their appearances have ended with that scoreline, all since the start of the millennium. Oh, and they’ve won each one.
2000 saw the Blues edge past Aston Villa thanks to Roberto Di Matteo’s winner following a goalmouth scramble.
2007 saw Didier Drogba net one of his six Wembley goals for the Stamford Bridge outfit, and the Ivorian added another as Chelsea defeated Portsmouth 1-0 in the 2009 showpiece.
However, it’s been four years since we’ve seen a repeat on the big occasion.
That was the day that Wigan Athletic shocked Manchester City with Ben Watson’s injury-time winner, to give the Latics their first major honour.
The question is – are we set to see 1-0 to the winners for the 44th time in history in this capital clash?
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
