Fa Cup 2011

FA Cup Final 2011 - Winners Manchester City

Ten months since the competition kicked-off on 14th August 2010 with the extra preliminary round, Manchester City beat Stoke on 14th May 2011 in the 130th FA Cup Final. The bookies placed Man City as the favourites, with Paddy Power pricing Roberto Mancini's men at 4/5 to win the final in 90 minutes, whilst Stoke were available at 7/2.

Head-to-head Record

Stoke and Man City played out a 1-1 at the Britannia Stadium earlier in the season, with Micah Richards giving the visitors a late lead before Matthew Etherington equalised in the last minute of the game. Ironically the return fixture at Eastlands was originally due to be played on 14th May, the date of the FA Cup Final, but has since been rescheduled to Tuesday 17th May.

The two teams last met in an FA Cup match only last season in what proved to be a titanic battle. Stoke eventually progressed after two matches and extra time, thanks to goals from Ryan Shawcross and Tuncay.

FA Cup 2010/11 Performances

Both teams have enjoyed relatively successful league campaigns, with Stoke currently in 8th place after beating Arsenal 3-1 at the weekend, and Man City are odds on to clinch the fourth Champions League spot for the first time in their history. However, they have both saved their form for the FA Cup, and despite a number of tricky ties have progressed through to the finals.

Manchester City’s Route to the Final

Man City struggled at the beginning of the competition, needing two replays to get past Championship side Leicester and league One strugglers Notts County. In Round Five they demolished Aston Villa 3-0 before edging past Reading in the Quarter-Finals, with a late Micah Richards goal all that separated the sides.

The semi-finals paired them up against their fierce rivals Manchester United at Wembley. In a close but fiery encounter Man City’s Yaya Toure scored the only goal of the game in the second-half sending City through to the final and their fans into raptures.

Stoke City’s Route to the Final

Like Man City, Stoke needed a replay to see off a Championship team in round three, with goals from “ giving them a 2-0 at Cardiff to send them through. A late Robert Huth goal gave them a 1-0 win at Wolves in round four, whilst goals from John Carew, Jonathan Walters and Ryan Shawcross gave them a 3-0 win over League One high-flyers Brighton.

In the quarter-finals the Potters’ defender Danny Higginbotham scored the winner as they beat West Ham 2-1. Stoke saved their most impressive performance for the semi-finals when they thrashed sorry Bolton 5-0. Goals from Matthew Etherington, Robert Huth, Kenwyne Jones and a brace from Jon Walters saw the midlanders through to the final.

FA Cup Final Result

Manchester City 1-0 Stoke

Manchester City won their first major trophy in 35 years as they beat Stoke at Wembley in the 2010/11 FA Cup Final. The cup was decided by a last striker by Yaya Toure
Toure as Man City won their first trophy of the Sheikh Mansour era.