2005 FA Cup final
The 2005 FA Cup final was a football match played between Arsenal and Manchester United on 21 May 2005 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2004–05 FA Cup, the 124th season of English football's primary cup competition, the FA Cup. Arsenal became the first team to win the FA Cup via a penalty shoot-out, after neither side managed to score in the initial 90 minutes or in 30 minutes of extra time. The shoot-out finished 5–4 to Arsenal, with Patrick Vieira scoring the winning penalty after Paul Scholes' shot was saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
As both teams were in the highest tier of English football, the Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester United entered the competition in the third round. Matches up to the semi-final were contested on a one-off basis, with a replay taking place if the match ended in a draw. Both clubs only needed one replay along the way to the final; Arsenal's tie against Sheffield United in the fifth round was decided by a penalty shootout, whereas Manchester United overcame non-league Exeter City in the third round, after the original tie ended goalless.
Protests over the impending takeover of Manchester United by American businessman Malcolm Glazer had threatened to overshadow the final, though demonstrations in Cardiff required little intervention from the police. Both managers for the final made surprising changes to their team; Arsène Wenger unconventionally deployed a defensive formation, while Sir Alex Ferguson left midfielder Ryan Giggs on the bench. Manchester United dominated the match, creating four times as many shots as their opponents, but struggled to find the breakthrough. In extra time, Arsenal's José Antonio Reyes was sent off for a second bookable offence, becoming only the second player to be sent off in an FA Cup final.
The British press unanimously agreed that Arsenal were fortunate to win; Wenger himself admitted so in his press conference afterwards. A television audience of over 480 million worldwide watched the final; in the United Kingdom, coverage of the match peaked at 12.8 million, making it the highest-rated FA Cup match since the 1996 final.
This was the 10th time that Arsenal won the FA Cup, and for the fourth time under Wenger's management. They would go on to play Premiership champions Chelsea in the 2005 FA Community Shield. Since both finalists had already qualified for the following season's UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup spot for the cup winners was passed onto the sixth placed team in the Premiership, which was Bolton Wanderers.
Route to the final
The FA Cup is English football's primary cup competition. Clubs in the Premier League enter the FA Cup in the third round and are drawn randomly with the remaining clubs. If a match is drawn, the tie is replayed at the ground of the away team from the original match. As with league fixtures, FA Cup matches are subject to change in the event of games being selected for television coverage and this often can be influenced by clashes with other competitions. In September 2004, it was announced that the Millennium Stadium was chosen as the venue for the semi-finals, in addition to the final.Arsenal
Arsenal's cup run started with a home tie against Stoke City. The visitors took the lead just before the break, but goals from José Antonio Reyes and Robin van Persie in the second half meant Arsenal won 2–1. They then faced Wolverhampton Wanderers at home in the next round; a goal apiece from Patrick Vieira and Freddie Ljungberg secured a comfortable 2–0 victory.Arsenal's opponent in the fifth round was Sheffield United. After 35 minutes Dennis Bergkamp was sent off for his apparent push on Danny Cullip. With eleven minutes of normal time remaining, Robert Pires scored for Arsenal, but the team conceded a late penalty which Andy Gray converted. The equaliser for Sheffield United meant the match was replayed at Bramall Lane on 1 March 2005. Both teams played out a goalless draw after full-time and throughout extra-time, so the tie was decided by a penalty shootout. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia saved two penalties, which ensured progress into the quarter-finals.
Bolton Wanderers hosted Arsenal at the Reebok Stadium in the sixth round of the competition. Ljungberg scored the only goal of the tie after just three minutes; he had an opportunity to extend Arsenal's lead in stoppage time, but hit the ball over from six yards. It was described by BBC Sport as the "most glaring miss of the match, if not the entire season".
Arsenal faced Blackburn Rovers in the semi-final which was played on 16 April 2005. Two goals from Van Persie and one from Pires gave Arsenal a 3–0 win, in a match marred by Blackburn's aggressive tactics.
Manchester United
Manchester United, the holders of the FA Cup, began their defence of the trophy with a home tie against non-league Exeter City. United had made several first team changes and struggled to find a breakthrough in the tie. Even with the second half introductions of Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo, the visitors held on for a goalless draw. The match was replayed at Exeter's home ground, St James Park on 19 January 2005. Ronaldo scored the opening goal of the match in the ninth minute and Wayne Rooney added a second, three minutes from normal time.Manchester United's opponents in the fourth round was Middlesbrough. Rooney scored twice in the team's 3–0 victory – he lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer for his first goal and volleyed it for his second. Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren credited Rooney's performance afterwards and said he made the difference in the tie. Everton hosted Manchester United in the next round at Goodison Park. A goal apiece from Quinton Fortune and Ronaldo in either half ensured a 2–0 win.
Southampton was Manchester United's opponent in the sixth round. After two minutes at St Mary's United took the lead; a shot by Roy Keane near the penalty area hit Southampton's Peter Crouch and deflected into the goal. Ronaldo scored United's second and additional goals from Scholes meant they progressed into the last four of the competition; the final score was 4–0.
In the semi-final Manchester United faced Newcastle United at the Millennium Stadium. They took the lead in the 19th minute when Ruud van Nistelrooy scored, and Scholes extended the team's advantage just before half time. Van Nistelrooy made it 3–0 in the 58th minute, before Shola Ameobi scored what proved a mere consolation a minute later, as Ronaldo added United's fourth late on.
Pre-match
The final marked the fifth meeting between the two clubs in the 2004–05 season. Despite finishing six points ahead of Manchester United in the league, Arsenal had lost both league fixtures between the clubs, as well as a League Cup fifth-round tie, which was played out by the clubs' fringe and reserve team players. Arsenal had won the season's first encounter in the FA Community Shield, also at the Millennium Stadium, by a 3–1 scoreline.The clubs had met in an FA Cup final before – in 1979, when Arsenal won 3–2. Manchester United were appearing in their 17th FA Cup Final, their second in as many years, and had won the FA Cup on 11 of their previous 16 appearances. Two of these victories had yielded a domestic double and in 1999 they had won the FA Cup as part of a unique Treble, consisting of the cup, the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal were also appearing in their 17th Cup final – their fourth in five years. They had won the cup nine times previously, most recently in 2003, when they beat Southampton in the final.
Meetings between Arsenal and Manchester United were keenly contested during the 2000s and highly publicised by the media; the cup final this season had added significance as neither club won the league after a decade of dominance, and it was their only chance of silverware. The emergence of Chelsea, who were crowned league champions in April, had presented a long-term threat to Arsenal and Manchester United's duopoly on English football, as they were financed by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Chelsea were accused of "tapping-up" Arsenal defender Ashley Cole in January, and were linked to Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand.
Wenger welcomed Chelsea's emergence, describing them as the "third force" in English football, but he raised concerns over their conduct and what he perceived as artificial growth. Asked whether Chelsea could dominate for the foreseeable, Wenger said: "I feel yes, because they are a financially doped club. They have enhancement of performances through financial resources which are unlimited. For me, it's a kind of doping because it's not in any way linked to their resources." Despite the absence of Thierry Henry, ruled out through injury, and Arsenal's poor recent record against Manchester United, Wenger believed his team were more than capable of winning the match: "What is good in football is that it is not predictable. You act now like it is a decade that we haven’t beaten Manchester United – it's not true. It's two games." It was reported on the eve of the final that Philippe Senderos would start ahead of first-teamer Sol Campbell.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson dismissed suggestions that his team had been over physical in previous meetings against Arsenal. Referring back to the league fixture in October 2004, he told reporters: "We committed three fouls on Reyes, for instance, but that hardly constitutes The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, does it? There were six by them on Cristiano Ronaldo." He questioned the character of Arsenal's players after they lost their unbeaten record, and likened their protest to propaganda, as a way to disguise their crisis – "...it was convenient for them to say they were kicked off the park." United had struggled to score goals in the lead up to the final, and Ferguson stressed the importance of his team taking their chances. "Big games are usually decided that way. They are so close so that whoever gets in front has an advantage," he said.