FA Cup final 2026: What can Chelsea learn from their games against Manchester City this season?

Chelsea’s hopes of salvaging any silverware, and likely any chance of European football, from this turbulent season rest on whether they can improve on their two performances against Manchester City so far this year.

A 1-1 draw at the Etihad in January, Calum McFarlane’s first ever managerial test against Premier League opposition, was followed by a 3-0 defeat under Liam Rosenior at Stamford Bridge in April. These were the 12th and 13th games of a winless run against Pep Guardiola’s side that stretches back to the Champions League final in 2021 — their longest sequence against any opponent in more than 20 years, and one they need to end in Saturday’s FA Cup final.

Chelsea are the clear underdogs. Manchester City are chasing a domestic cup double, possibly even a treble with the Premier League, but will be aware this could potentially be the final piece of silverware under Guardiola should he depart in the summer.

They have not lost in eight matches across all competitions (W7, D1). Over the same period, Chelsea have lost five — they have actually lost eight of their last 11 — with their only their only wins in that time coming in the FA Cup against Port Vale and Leeds United. The draw at Liverpool on Saturday was the first Premier League point they have picked up since March 4.

The odds are against them. But as they sit ninth in the Premier League table, four points behind seventh place and six behind sixth, winning a ticket into the Europa League by lifting the cup is their best chance of securing European football next year.

The good news is that interim head coach McFarlane (back in the dugout following Rosenior’s sacking) has two games against City in the past six months to look back on and judge what has worked — and what has not.

These are the lessons Chelsea should learn from those matches.

Keep it organised

In January, a detail-oriented and disciplined approach out of possession helped Chelsea limit City’s threat for periods, even in the absence of key personnel like Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana.

McFarlane set Chelsea up for the forwards to press City’s back line aggressively high up the pitch, but for the rest of the team to remain compact to close down passing lanes through the middle. The midfield pairing of Reece James and Enzo Fernandez helped with on-pitch organisation.

In the example below, we see James directing Josh Acheampong to track Tijjani Reijnders, forcing the Dutchman to bounce the ball back rather than turn and progress play. It is eventually Joao Pedro losing track of Rodri, whom he appears to have been tasked with marking, that allows City to progress and create an opportunity that they waste with a poor cross.

A few minutes later, Chelsea execute their out-of-possession plan well.

Acheampong is again keeping track of Reijnders, while Estevao is monitoring Nico O’Reilly. Joao Pedro is tight to Rodri and there are several Chelsea players blocking off Erling Haaland, who was largely kept quiet early in the game.

When Phil Foden drops back to receive the ball, Fernandez is on hand to stop him turning into space. When City switch to attack the left side, O’Reilly is ruled out by Chelsea’s marking and Cole Palmer’s pressure forces City back into their own half.

City are likely to dominate the ball at Wembley — but if Chelsea are disciplined and organised out of possession, they can frustrate them. That approach requires taking their own chances when they come, though, which leads us to lesson No 2…

Be direct — and clinical

Much as Chelsea prefer possession-based football, the evidence of the past two matches suggests they are not going to beat City at their own game.

In April’s defeat in particular, the intensity of City’s press when Chelsea attempted to build out from the back made it difficult to sustain possession.

Being too patient in the build-up also allowed City to recover their shape and shut down crossing opportunities. Chelsea’s best chances came from fast, direct attacks: below, in January, they took advantage of Josko Gvardiol being temporarily down injured to break forward through Palmer and create a rare numerical advantage in City’s box.

Again, in April, direct play yielded their best chances.

Here, it is a quick series of passes punched through the midfield, with Cucurella then driving forward down the wing, that allow Chelsea to almost catch City out. Palmer’s shot is well blocked by Marc Guehi — which underlines the importance of their decision-making in these moments.

Trying to play in Pedro Neto, Estevao, or even a reverse pass to Andrey Santos might have been a better option.

Chelsea’s finishing has been poor recently, but they have finally broken their goal drought by scoring in their past two Premier League games. City will not give up chances easily; exploiting the opportunities they have on the break with clinical finishing will be crucial if McFarlane’s side are going to prevail.

On the other side of that coin, Chelsea need to be alert to City’s own threats on the counter.

In January, they dealt more effectively with City’s slower-built attacks than quick ones. Plenty of teams have found joy by isolating Chelsea’s defenders with a long ball over the top and City are not above doing so. Here, a launched ball after a failed Chelsea attack creates panic and presents Phil Foden with an opportunity to open the scoring.

In April, Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo proved to be an effective outlet as Chelsea struggled to cope with their pace. McFarlane’s side need to stay on their guard even as they attack to avoid being caught out.

Stop one goal snowballing into two

After conceding, Chelsea have looked extremely vulnerable and their habit of shipping goals in quick succession is what has seen so many games rapidly move out of reach.

Their collapse against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League is the best example, but this is also what happened against City in April. O’Reilly’s opener and Guehi’s goal were separated by just six minutes, immediately undoing what had been, up to that point, a performance that exceeded expectations.

In contrast, the fact that they successfully rode out the few minutes to half-time after Reijnders’ opener in January allowed the team to regroup.

Marc Guehi steers in Manchester City’s second against his former club (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

In the six minutes between City’s first two goals in April, their aggressive pressure when Chelsea attempted to play out from the back made it near-impossible for the hosts to settle down. Robert Sanchez ended up kicking long several times, only for Chelsea to fail to keep hold of the ball.

Given Chelsea have kept one clean sheet since January 17 — against a Port Vale side who were relegated from League One — it feels very unlikely they will hold City out.

How they respond to any concession will be key; they do not look capable of playing out through an aggressive press in that situation, so need their forward players to act as outlets to relieve pressure. Joao Pedro has improved in that role throughout the season, but having other physically strong attackers return from injury will be important.

On-pitch leadership from figures like James, Colwill and Fernandez will also help.

Concentrate and take care of the ball

During his brief tenure at Stamford Bridge, Rosenior frequently lamented Chelsea’s inability to take care of moments. We can see why in all four of the goals they have conceded against City so far this season.

In January, the end product was a well-taken finish by Reijnders — but City gained possession high up the pitch because of Chelsea’s carelessness with the ball. In April, O’Reilly’s opener was an unchallenged header in the six-yard box after brushing off Santos. Malo Gusto completely lost track of Guehi to allow him to finish six minutes later, and Moises Caicedo’s hesitancy allowed Doku to pinch the ball from him just outside the box for City’s third.

City have enough attacking threat without their opponents helping them. Chelsea’s lack of composure on the ball has let them down again and again this season — on Saturday, they need calmer heads to prevail.