Arsenal dominates Aston Villa to claim another FA Cup title

Theo Walcott ended a frustrating season by scoring the first goal as Arsenal won a record 12th FA Cup title Saturday with a dominant 4-0 victory over Aston Villa in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Walcott, who missed most of 2014 with a knee injury sustained in an FA Cup game, volleyed home a shot in the 40th minute to put defending champion Arsenal ahead.

Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead with a fierce 25-yard shot that dipped in via the underside of the crossbar before Per Mertesacker scored with a header in the 62nd. Olivier Giroud completed the win in injury time.

“It was amazing,” Walcott said. “Any win is fantastic. The manner we did it today was great, we played great football and kept a clean sheet. We always knew if we kept a clean sheet we were going to score goals and win the game.”

After a nine-year trophy drought, Arsenal has now won the Cup two years in a row, overtaking Manchester United’s record of 11 titles.

The win also meant Arsene Wenger tied the record for Cup victories by a manager with six, level with Villa’s George Ramsay, who won his last title in 1920.

“It’s something I’m very proud of,” Wenger said. “If no one has done it (in modern times) it means it’s very difficult.”

===

Lionel Messi scored a stunning opener before adding a second goal to lead Barcelona to the Copa del Rey title with a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao, giving the Catalan club its second of three possible trophies before it turns to the Champions League final.

Messi dribbled past four Bilbao defenders to put Barcelona in charge in the 20th minute.

Neymar scored in the 37th and Messi capped the win in the 74th before Inaki Williams got Bilbao’s goal as Barcelona claimed its record 27th cup title — and third in seven years.

Luis Enrique’s side, which won the Spanish league two weeks ago, will have a chance to make it a rare treble when it plays Juventus in the Champions League final next Saturday in Berlin.

===

Wolfsburg defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in Berlin to win the German Cup for the first time, denying Juergen Klopp the perfect sendoff in his final game as Dortmund coach.

After seven years at the club, the 47-year-old Klopp was unable to inspire his side to victory despite going ahead in the fifth minute through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Luiz Gustavo equalized against the run of play in the 22nd after Mitch Langerak had saved Naldo’s powerful free kick, Kevin De Bruyne put Wolfsburg ahead in the 33rd, and Bas Dost completed the scoring with a header from close range five minutes later.

Dortmund fought hard in the second half, only to struggle against Wolfsburg’s well-organized defense with goalkeeper Diego Benaglio in fine form.