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Arsenal won a record 12th FA Cup, as the Gunners simple outclassed their Aston Villa, who never turned up. Arsene Wenger won the tactical battle against his counterpart Tim Sherwood, as the Frenchman decided to bring in the pacy Theo Walcott in place of the brawny Olivier Giroud. And the Frenchman’s decision paid dividends as Walcott scored the opening goal, volleying past Shay Given. The Villa defence was all over the place in the first-half and Given was forced to make a handful of crucial saves.
Sanchez probably scored one the greatest goals of the finals, when the Chilean sent a ferocious swiveling shot from 25 yards past the hapless Given. Per Mertesacker killed the game off after some horrendous man-marking during a corner, gifted the lanky defender a free header to make it 3-0. Substitute Olivier Giroud, rubbed salt into the Villa wounds, when he turned in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross with, virtually, the last kick of the match.
Although Aston Villa had two penalty appeals waved off late in the second-half, the side which performed exceptionally against Liverpool in the semifinals was nowhere to be seen. This win is Arsene Wenger’s 6th FA Cup triumph, equaling George Ramsay’s record of 6 wins, ironically enough, with Aston Villa from 1887 to 1920. Arsenal were simply a class apart, a statement corroborated by the fact that the Gunners had 16 shots on goal, far superior to Villa’s tally of two.
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Paris Saint-Germain secured a historic domestic treble, winning the Coupe de France, albeit unconvincingly against the lowly Auxerre. There was no doubt that PSG were favorites to win, but the Ligue 2 side put in a dogged display, making life difficult for Laurent Blanc’s men. Edinson Cavani finally broke the deadlock after the hour-mark, when his headed effort struck the post before going in off the goalkeeper’s back.
“We finished the season very well. We wanted this cup and it was hard to win it.” Laurent Blanc said after completing the clean sweep of all major domestic titles. “Auxerre played very well and you have to take your hat off to them. They played to their strengths.”
Having won the Ligue 1 and Coupe de la Ligue earlier this year, this hitherto unachievable feat was attained with relative ease, which shows that PSG are miles ahead of their rivals in the domestic circuit.
Tags: Arsenal Aston Villa PSG
