CHELSEA v MANCHESTER UNITED

No question; I shall be watching the Cup tie tonight, not bothered much about who wins but there is quite a legacy in this fixture which dates back to December 25th 1905! Yes, Christmas Day. This was the first of two Division Two fixtures that season which ended 0-0 and the return game was on April 13th 1906, ending 1-1.
The two met in 1925 in Division Two again, the only other time they played each other in the second tier.

The two have mainly met in Div One and most recently  in the Premier League since 1992. Of course there have been meetings in the FA Cup, Football League Cup, The Community Shield and the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea who have won 54, Drawn 55 and Lost 77 times.

Their first Cup tie was in 1908, on the 2nd February, a 2nd Rd game which United won 1-0.
They then met in:
1950 Chelsea 1-0 QF; 1963 United 2-1 5th Rd; 1979 United 3-0 3rd Rd; 1988 United 3-0 4th Rd; 1994 United 4-0 Final;
1996 United 2-1 Semi-Final; 1998 United 3-5 3rd Rd; 1999 0-0 then United 0-2 QF*; 2007 Chelsea 1-0 Final Ole played; 2013 2-2 then Chelsea 1-0 6th Rd; 2017 Chelsea 1-0 QF; 2018 Chelsea 1-0 Final.
* Ole played and was on the bench.

The 2018 Final was refereed by Michael Oliver, who at 33 was the youngest referee in charge of the FA Cup Final since the 1914 Final, refereed by Herbert S. Bamlett who took charge of the Burnley v Liverpool Final tie, won by Burnley 1-0 played at the Crystal Palace. Clarets' captain Tommy Boyle received the cup from King George V, the first time this had happened.

The King sported a red rose as it was an all Lancashire occasion; the cup recorded the greatest number of 476 clubs entering the competition and three months later WAR was declared.
Bamlett went on to manage Manchester United between 1927-31.

The 2018 final also was the first time VAR was used. Neil Swarbrick being the VAR official!
The two clubs met in the 2018 FA Cup Final for the third time (before 1994, 2007).

Other clubs meeting three times in the final are: Arsenal v Newcastle Utd and Aston Villa v WBA.
Jackie Wilkins, wife of the deceased Ray, presented the cup.