1996–97 FA Cup The 1997 FA Cup Final took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Chelsea with a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough. Di Matteo scored the fastest ever goal in FA Cup Final history 43 seconds after kick-off, beating Jackie Milburn's record from the 1954-1955 final of 45 seconds, which was only beaten in 2009 by Everton's Louis Saha (27.9 seconds). Chelsea were attempting to win their first FA Cup final for 27 years, while Middlesbrough were contesting their first ever final. Chelsea took to the field on the back of something of a renaissance under Dutch
2001–02 FA Cup than 30 years, had been hoping to compensate for a disappointing Premier League campaign with glory in the FA Cup. These hopes were ended by their neighbours Chelsea, who won the semi-final tie 1–0. Arsenal's 2–0 victory set them up for a third double (which was completed when they sealed the league title four days later) and saw them equal Tottenham's eight FA Cup triumphs – putting them second only to Manchester United (10 trophies) as the most frequent winners of the FA Cup. In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters taking over from ITV