The18 promised you The FA Cup would provide upsets, but we never expected one of quite such biblical proportions. 2-0 up at home and coasting, Premier League leaders Chelsea contrived to concede four goals in less than an hour to third tier Bradford City. While by no means a full-strength starting 11, Jose Mourinho still had more than $150 million of talent on the pitch (and another $150 million on the bench), and described himself as “embarassed” by the result.
So just how ridiculous is Bradford’s win? Aside from the fact that the Bantams are 49 places below Chelsea in the league structure, here are eight very good reasons why their 4-2 defeat of the champions-elect ranks as the biggest upset in The FA Cup’s 143 year history:
- Bradford City hadn’t scored four goals away from home in 16 months
- Chelsea hadn’t conceded four goals against a third-tier side in 57 years
- Jose Mourinho had never, ever conceded four goals in a home game; not even against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona
- Bradford hadn’t come from two goals behind to win in any competition in over two years
- In the 14 years since Bradford last played in the Premier League, Chelsea have won the league four times, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice, the Champions League and the Europa League. In that same period, Bradford were relegated three times and placed into administration twice
- Chelsea have won every single game they’ve played at home this season, and lost only 3 in their last 48 home Premier League matches
- Bradford were knocked out in the first round of all three cup competitions they entered last season, and haven’t reached the 5th Round of the FA Cup in 18 years.
- James Hanson, the only player on the pitch for whom Bradford paid a fee, cost them just $12,000, or 1/20th of Diego Costa’s weekly wage.
In summary, it's a giant killing to put David in his place. But at least Chelsea can comfort themselves with the knowledge that they weren’t the only Premier League casualties on Saturday: Man City, Swansea, Southampton and Tottenham all went crashing out, while Liverpool and Man United were both held to goalless draws by lower ranking teams.
God bless The FA Cup.
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