Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough (1996-97 FA Cup Final)

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1997 FA Cup Final
0Scoreline	Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough
0Date	17 May 1997
0Competition	FA Cup
0Referee	Steve Lodge
0Stadium	Wembley Stadium
0Attendance	79,160

The 1997 FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Middlesbrough was Chelsea's fifth FA Cup Final appearance and resulted in their second victory in the competition, having waited 27 years since their 1970 win, and 26 years since their last major trophy. It was the first time that Chelsea had lifted the cup at Wembley; the 1970 victory over Leeds United having taken place in a replay at Old Trafford. Chelsea's victory meant that Ruud Gullit was the first foreign manager to win a major trophy with an English club.

Contents 1 Match review 2 Match details 3 Road to the Final 4 Match reports 5 Images

Match review

Chelsea took the lead just 42 seconds into the match, with Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo receiving the ball and firing it into the goal off the crossbar from 25 yards to record what was at the time the quickest ever goal in a Wembley FA Cup final, breaking Jackie Milburn's 42-year record (Louis Saha broke this record 12 years later in the 2009 final after just 25 seconds, ironically against Chelsea, though Chelsea won the match against Everton 2-1). Middlesbrough's prolific striker Fabrizio Ravanelli limped off after 21 minutes, further diminishing his side's chances of victory. Late in the first half Gianluca Festa put the ball in the net for Middlesbrough, but the goal was ruled out for offside. In a largely disappointing match, in which Chelsea were generally in control, Chelsea eventually added a second goal seven minutes from full-time with Eddie Newton steering the ball into the net from Gianfranco Zola's clever flick to seal a 2–0 win.

Match details

17 May 1997 15.00	Chelsea	2 - 0	Middlesbrough	Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 79,160 Referee: Steve Lodge
	Di Matteo 1' Newton 83'

CHELSEA: GK 30 Frode Grodås RB 2 Dan Petrescu CB 6 Steve Clarke CB 5 Frank Leboeuf 71' CB 20 Frank Sinclair LB 17 Scott Minto CM 11 Dennis Wise (c) CM 16 Roberto Di Matteo 54' CM 24 Eddie Newton 37' CF 10 Mark Hughes CF 25 Gianfranco Zola 89' Substitutes: GK 13 Kevin Hitchcock DF 8 Andy Myers CF 9 Gianluca Vialli 89' Manager: Ruud Gullit

MIDDLESBROUGH: GK 25 Ben Roberts RB 14 Curtis Fleming CB 5 Nigel Pearson (c) CB 18 Gianluca Festa 62' LB 17 Clayton Blackmore RM 10 Juninho CM 8 Robbie Mustoe 29' CM 6 Emerson LM 20 Phil Stamp CF 11 Fabrizio Ravanelli 24' CF 21 Craig Hignett 74' Substitutes: DF 4 Steve Vickers 29 DF 7 Vladimír Kinder 74 CF 9 Mikkel Beck 24 Manager: Bryan Robson

Road to the Final

Season	Day	D	M	Year	Round	Opposition	Venue	Result	Score	Additional information
1996-97	Sat	4	Jan	1997	3rd Round	West Bromwich Albion	Home	Won	3-0
1996-97	Sun	26	Jan	1997	4th Round	Liverpool	Home	Won	4-2
1996-97	Sun	16	Feb	1997	5th Round	Leicester City	Away	Drew	2-2
1996-97	Wed	26	Feb	1997	5th Round Replay	Leicester City	Home	Won	1-0
1996-97	Sun	9	Mar	1997	6th Round	Portsmouth	Away	Won	4-1
1996-97	Sun	13	Apr	1997	Semi Final	Wimbledon	Neutral*	Won	3-0	*Highbury (Arsenal)

Match reports

• chelseafc.com
• The Independent

Images

Match ticket	Match programme	Di Matteo after 42 seconds
Wise lifts the cup		The goalscorers and the captain	Ruud Gullit

FA Cup

Seasons:01905–06 • 1906–07 • 1907–08 • 1908–09 • 1909–10 • 1910–11 • 1911–12 • 1912–13 • 1913–14 • 1914–15 • 1919–20 • 1920–21 • 1921–22 • 1922–23 • 1923–24 • 1924–25 • 1925–26 • 1926–27 • 1927–28 • 1928–29 • 1929–30 • 1930–31 • 1931–32 • 1932–33 • 1933–34 • 1934–35 • 1935–36 • 1936–37 • 1937–38 • 1938–39 • 1945–46 • 1946–47 • 1947–48 • 1948–49 • 1949–50 • 1950–51 • 1951–52 • 1952–53 • 1953–54 • 1954–55 • 1955–56 • 1956–57 • 1957–58 • 1958–59 • 1959–60 • 1960–61 • 1961–62 • 1962–63 • 1963–64 • 1964–65 • 1965–66 • 1966–67 • 1967–68 • 1968–69 • 1969–70 • 1970–71 • 1971–72 • 1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 • 1979–80 • 1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90 • 1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 • 2009–10 • 2010–11 • 2011–12 • 2012–13 • 2013–14 • 2014–15 • 2015–16

Finals: 1915 • 1967 • 1970 • 1970 (R) • 1994 • 1997 • 2000 • 2002 • 2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2012

1996-97 season

Premier League:

Southampton (A) • Middlesbrough (H) • Coventry (H) • Arsenal (A) • Sheff Wed (A) • Aston Villa (H) • Liverpool (A) Nottm Forest (H) • Leicester (A) • Wimbledon (H) • Tottenham (H) • Man Utd (A) • Blackburn (A) • Newcastle (H) • Leeds Utd (A) Everton (H) • Sunderland (A) • West Ham (H) • Aston Villa (A) • Sheff Wed (H) • Liverpool (H) • Nottm Forest (A) • Derby (H) Tottenham (A) • Man Utd (H) • Derby (A) • Blackburn (H) • West Ham (A) • Sunderland (H) • Southampton (H) • Middlesbrough (A) Arsenal (H) • Coventry (A) • Newcastle (A) • Leicester (H) • Wimbledon (A) • Leeds Utd (H) • Everton (A)

FA Cup:

3rd round: West Brom | 4th round: Liverpool | 5th round: Leicester • Replay | QF: Portsmouth | SF: Wimbledon | Final: Middlesbrough

League Cup:

2nd round: Blackpool: 1st Leg • 2nd Leg | 3rd round: Bolton