Manchester City had a goal by the restored Erling Haaland disallowed as the Premier League title hopefuls had the better of the first half in the 2026 FA Cup final against Chelsea.
Haaland tapped in Matheus Nunes’ low cross at Wembley Stadium, only for the provider to immediately be adjudged offside.
Haaland finds the net but the flag is up 🚩
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 16, 2026
“The press is excellent from Man City,” former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Sport. “Chelsea are under huge pressure and they very nearly get punished for it.”
You can follow live text updates from the FA Cup final as Chelsea seek to lift the trophy for the first time since 2018 and City target the first part of a potential domestic double.
FA Cup final: Was Haaland goal offside in Chelsea vs Man City?
Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann was unequivocal in his assessment of the decision to deny the Premier League top scorer.
“Very straightforward and a good decision,” Cann said, commentating on a game in which Haaland returned as one of five City newcomers in their line-up. “That offside was from the first pass.”
City, who are 28 points above Chelsea in the Premier League, had both attempts on target between the teams before the break and six of the eight efforts overall, although the Blues held out to reach half-time goalless.
FA Cup final 2026: Chelsea line-up vs Manchester City
Chelsea made two changes from their Premier League draw at Liverool a week earlier, bringing in captain Reece James for Andrey Santos and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez for Filip Jorgensen.
Chelsea starting XI: Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Jorrel Hato, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro
Chelsea substitutes: Filip Jorgensen, Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Dario Essugo, Andrey Santos, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, Liam Delap
Man City team: FA Cup final 2026 vs Chelsea
City made a host of alterations from their 3-0 home win over Crystal Palace in the top flight the previous Wednesday.
Alongside Haaland, Rodri returned from injury and James Trafford, Nico O’Reilly, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland also came in.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Josko Gvardiol, Savinho, Phil Foden and Rayan Ait-Nouri moved to the bench.
Manchester City starting XI: James Trafford, Matheus Nunes, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Antoine Semenyo, Omar Marmoush, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland
Manchester City substitutes: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rúben Dias, Tijjani Reijnders, John Stones, Nathan Aké, Mateo Kovačić, Rayan Cherki, Savinho, Phil Foden
Where to watch Chelsea vs Man City: TV and online streams
The FA Cup final kicked off at 15:00 BST (10:00 ET / 07:00 PT) on Saturday. Live coverage in the UK is on BBC One and TNT Sports 1.
Streaming is on the BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport and HBO Max.
Chelsea vs Manchester City stats
- Manchester City are the first team to play in four successive FA Cup finals
- They have won 21 of their last 23 FA Cup ties, their two defeats in the 2024 and 2025 finals to Manchester United and Crystal Palace
- Chelsea have won eight and lost eight of their previous 16 FA Cup final appearances
- They have not scored in their last four final appearances at Wembley
