Despite Chelsea being clear favourites to win yesterday’s FA Cup final, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal pulled out their performance of the season to win the trophy for a record thirteenth time.
ARSENAL HAVE WON THE FA CUP!!! Look what it means to them! pic.twitter.com/nC8NQW2mFn
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) May 27, 2017
While we could put it down to Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey – and Victor Moses’ stupidity – fate may have played a major factor in the result. Well, maybe.
One Reddit user pointed out an interesting coincidence about Antonio Conte’s first season at Chelsea, compared to his time at Juventus in 2012. Check it out:
In 2012 Antonio Conte took a 7th placed Juventus side to the league title in Italy. Captain Del Piero bid farewell to the club. Conte lost the cup final against a 5th placed Napoli and missed out on the domestic double. Juventus finished the Coppa Italia final with 10 men on the field.
5 years later, Conte takes a 10th placed Chelsea to league title in England. Captain Terry bids farewell to the club. Conte loses the cup final to a 5th placed Arsenal and misses out on the domestic double. Chelsea finishes the FA Cup Final with 10 men on the field.
Ok, it is just a coincidence, but it’s an interesting titbit. A few other people on the same thread also pointed out that despite winning Serie A, Serie B and the Premier league, Conte has never won a knock-out competition as a manager – could that be a bad sign for Chelsea in the Champions League next year? (Probably not).
