FA Cup Finals 2019: The 138th edition of Football Association Challenge Cup or 2018–19 FA Cup has finally ended with its grand finale which was held on yesterday, May 18 at 17:00 BST. The final was played at Wembley Stadium, London between Manchester City and Watford where Manchester City made its huge victory.
About 2018–19 FA Cup
The 2018–19 FA Cup initially began with the Extra Preliminary Round on the weekend of 11 August 2018 and the tournament gets concluded on Saturday, May 18. The winner of the competition qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage.
The tournament was started with the qualifying rounds where all of the contending teams that are not members of either the Premier League or English Football League contended in the qualifying rounds in order to lock down one of 32 accessible places in the First Round Proper.
This season, the Premier League side Chelsea were the defending champions, but on the other hand, they were already eliminated by Manchester United in the fifth round which was held on 18 February 2019 in a second go of the preceding year’s final.
When and where was 2018–19 FA Cup Final held?
The final of 2018–19 FA Cup was played on 18 May 2019 at Wembley Stadium, London and the official kick-off time was 5:00 pm. There was a total number of 85,854 attendance in the stadium.
The final has been played at Wembley Stadium from the time when it was renovated in the year 2007 following the knocking down of the old Wembley in 2003. The game was also aired live on BBC One or BT Sport 2.
Which teams won the 2018–19 FA Cup?
The FA Cup final was contested between Manchester City and Watford, where Manchester City defeated Watford by a great 6-0 scores.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola on their victory said, “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.”
On the other hand, Watford boss Javi Gracia said, “At this moment, everyone is really sad but 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.”
The statement further added, “It was very difficult for us to press which is what we were trying to do. They were better. Congratulations to them and we will try again next time. Maybe scoring that early chance [would have helped] – you need to take any opportunity – but after that, they are really good, they found the spaces. Sometimes you have to lose to win in the future and we will try to do it next time.”
2018–19 FA Cup Preview
Quarter-finals
Date: 16 March 2019
Scores: Watford (1) 2–1 Crystal Palace (1)
Location: Watford
Date: 16 March 2019
Scores: Swansea City (2) 2–3 Manchester City (1)
Location: Swansea
Date: 16 March 2019
Scores: Wolverhampton Wanderers (1) 2–1 Manchester United (1)
Location: Wolverhampton
Date: 17 March 2019
Scores: Millwall (2) 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) Brighton & Hove Albion (1)
Location: Bermondsey, London
Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 17 March 2019 and these are the updates of the semi- finals:
Date: 6 April 2019
Scores: Manchester City (1) 1–0 Brighton & Hove Albion (1)
Location: London
Date: 7 April 2019
Scores: Watford (1) 3–2 (a.e.t.) Wolverhampton Wanderers (1)
Location: London
Final
The final was played on 18 May 2019 at Wembley Stadium, London.
Date: 18 May 2019
Time: 17:00 BST
Sides: Manchester City 6-0 Watford
Location: Wembley Stadium, London
This was the City’s sixth FA Cup victory and their first under Guardiola, who has at present won six trophies from the time when captivating over at Etihad Stadium in the year 2016.
City’s victory means Wolves, who complete seventh in the Premier League table, are going to play in the two-legged second qualifying round of the Europa League which will be held on 25 July and 1 August.
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany said, “It wasn’t as easy as the score makes it look. But what a season, what a tremendous club.”
He further added, “It started with the manager, he sets the standard at the start of the season. It’s the best team in the world for me. To set such a high standard for so long – not just for one year but two years running now.”
