Having lifted the trophy on eight different occasions, we have a proud history in the tournament. As we continue our build-up to the match, here are six of our favourite memories from over the years in the world’s oldest cup competition.

Di Matteo’s rocket

During the 1996/97 showpiece event, the Blues took on Middlesbrough looking to secure our second FA Cup trophy. And they couldn’t have had a better start when Roberto Di Matteo smashed the ball in from range, clipping the underside of the crossbar as it went in after just 43 seconds.

The Italian’s effort went down as the fastest goal to be scored in an FA Cup final at Wembley until Louis Saha (2009) and Ilkay Gundogan (2023) broke that record years later. Chelsea went on to win the match 2-0 with Eddie Newton’s goal seven minutes from time securing silverware.

Rudiger’s winning celebration

Next we head back to 2018 and recalling our FA Cup final victory over Manchester United, courtesy of Eden Hazard’s decisive spot-kick. It was fair to say that Player of the Match Antonio Rudiger enjoyed his first piece of silverware in Chelsea blue, producing dance moves to rival anyone in the squad when celebrating in the Wembley dressing room after the game!

Cech’s astonishing save

With the 2012 FA Cup final finely poised at 2-1 between the Blues and Liverpool heading into the final minutes, Luis Suarez delivered a ball to the back post where Andy Carroll lay in wait. However, his powerful header was, somehow, spectacularly kept out by Petr Cech.

While the Liverpool striker wheeled away to celebrate with his supporters, replays showed that the stunning save from the Chelsea legend had stopped the ball from crossing the line, tipping the chance onto the crossbar. The Blues went on to secure a seventh FA Cup title.

Zouma’s reaction to Matic’s wonder-strike

As Chelsea were looking to wrap up our FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham in 2017, Nemanja Matic hit a thunderbolt into the top corner to make it 4-2 and, ultimately, out of the reach of our London rivals. The supporters weren’t the only people celebrating wildly as Kurt Zouma was caught on camera sat on the bench completely awestruck by the Serbian’s incredible effort.

Giroud’s solo goal

The next comes in another semi-final back in 2018 when Olivier Giroud scored a mesmeric solo effort, exhibiting impressive composure to avoid the onrushing Southampton players, before sliding the ball in after just 30 seconds of the second half. We would secure our place in the final that season with a 2-0 victory over the Saints.

Lampard’s corner flag celebration

Our final entry comes from the 2009 FA Cup final when we took on Everton. With the score level at 1-1, the ever-reliable Frank Lampard put Chelsea into the lead with less than 20 minutes left on the clock. To celebrate the important strike, the Blues' all-time top goalscorer rounded the corner flag just like his father did when he also scored against the Toffees in the 1980 semi-final. Meant to be, hey!