When Chelsea take to the pitch against Real Madrid in the Champions League this evening, many players will be forgiven for believing this is an entirely new experience.

For many of them, indeed, it will be. Hardly any of the Chelsea squad have featured in the last four of the Champions League, while only Cesar Azpilicueta has done so in a blue shirt.

The defender was part of the last Chelsea team to make the last four of the competition, when Jose Mourinho's side bowed out to Atletico Madrid in 2014.

For all their power, prestige and relentless spending in European football over the past two decades, Chelsea haven't had the best relationship with the latter stages of the Champions League.

Yet, when they get to the semi-finals, drama is always guaranteed.

It doesn't take long for the mind of a Chelsea fan to wander back to very turbulent times, when nerves were sky high and glory was on the line.

Some have never forgiven Claudio Ranieri for his mind-boggling tinkering in 2004, while others can still hear the pain in Didier Drogba's voice from two years later when he had to be held back from the camera by his own team-mates.

This is before a certain ghost goal is even mentioned.

Chelsea's romance with Europe's top cup competition throws up thrills and spills in abundance. As they prepare to lock horns with Zinedine Zidane's seasoned veterans, could the football world be in store for the latest installment?

It's a record which is far from envious. Chelsea have played in seven semis and won only two. Something always seems to come up which commands the limelight and turns a game of football into the most outlandish of spectacles.

Ahead of the Blues return to the big time for the first time in seven years, Sportsmail took a look back through the archives...