2000 FA Cup final

For the women's event, see 2000 FA Women's Cup final.

The 2000 FA Cup final was the 119th final of the FA Cup, and the 72nd (excluding replays) and last to be played at the old Wembley Stadium. It took place on 20 May 2000 and was contested between Chelsea and Aston Villa, the latter making its first FA Cup Final appearance since winning it in 1957.

2000 FA Cup final

Match programme cover
Event	1999–2000 FA Cup
Chelsea Aston Villa 1 0
Date	20 May 2000
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match	Dennis Wise[1] (Chelsea)
Referee	Graham Poll[2] (Hertfordshire)
Attendance	78,217[2]
← 1999 2001 →

Chelsea won 1–0 to secure their second FA Cup in four years, and their third in all. The goal was scored midway through the second half by Roberto Di Matteo, who had also scored in the 1997 final.

Wembley Stadium closed five months later, and was subsequently rebuilt. The FA Cup Final was played at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff for the next six years, before returning to Wembley in 2007 (Chelsea would also win that final as well).

Road to Wembley

Chelsea Third Round Hull City 1–6 Chelsea Fourth Round Chelsea 2–0 Nottingham Forest Fifth Round Chelsea 2–1 Leicester City Sixth Round Chelsea 5–0 Gillingham Semi-Final Newcastle United 1–2 Chelsea (at Wembley Stadium)

Aston Villa Third Round Aston Villa 2–1 Darlington Fourth Round Aston Villa 1–0 Southampton Fifth Round Aston Villa 3–2 Leeds United Sixth Round Everton 1–2 Aston Villa Semi-Final Bolton Wanderers 0–0 Aston Villa (at Wembley Stadium) Aston Villa won 4–1 on penalties

Match

Summary

Following a poor quality first half in which few chances were created, the match was brighter in the second, with Chelsea generally having the better of the play. George Weah missed several chances and Dennis Wise had a goal disallowed for offside, while Villa's Gareth Southgate headed wide. On 73 minutes, Roberto Di Matteo scored what proved to be the winning goal, capitalising on an error from Villa goalkeeper David James to put the ball in the net from close range. James came roaring off his line to deal with Zola's free-kick from the left, he fumbled the ball against Gareth Southgate's chest with Di Matteo blasting the rebound into the roof of the net. Villa could not get back in the match, their best chance falling to Benito Carbone, but his tame shot did not test Ed de Goey in goal.

Details

Chelsea	1–0	Aston Villa
Di Matteo 73'	Report

20 May 2000

15:00 BST

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 78,217^[2]

Referee: Graham Poll^[2] (Hertfordshire)

Chelsea

Aston Villa

GK 1 Ed de Goey RB 15 Mario Melchiot  18' CB 6 Marcel Desailly CB 5 Frank Leboeuf LB 3 Celestine Babayaro DM 7 Didier Deschamps CM 16 Roberto Di Matteo CM 11 Dennis Wise (c)  28' AM 8 Gus Poyet  90' CF 25 Gianfranco Zola  89' CF 31 George Weah  88' Substitutes: GK 23 Carlo Cudicini CB 26 John Terry LB 34 Jon Harley CM 20 Jody Morris  89' CF 19 Tore André Flo  88' Manager: Gianluca Vialli

GK 1 David James DF 24 Mark Delaney DF 5 Ugo Ehiogu DF 4 Gareth Southgate (c) DF 15 Gareth Barry  16' DF 3 Alan Wright  88' MF 6 George Boateng  90' MF 10 Paul Merson MF 7 Ian Taylor  79' MF 18 Benito Carbone  79' FW 9 Dion Dublin Substitutes: GK 39 Peter Enckelman DF 31 Jlloyd Samuel MF 26 Steve Stone  79' MF 17 Lee Hendrie  88' FW 12 Julian Joachim  79' Manager: John Gregory

Man of the match Dennis Wise (Chelsea)[1]

Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shootout if scores still level. Five named substitutes Maximum of 3 substitutions.

Statistics

	Chelsea	Aston Villa
Goal attempts	5	11
Corner kicks	2	3
Fouls committed	17	14
Offsides	5	2
Yellow cards	3	2
Red cards	0	0

Source: The People^[1]