When it comes to same-nation ties in European competition, everyone thinks of the same three teams as far as Chelsea are concerned: Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

It may surprise some to learn there is actually a fourth name on that list, who are also the first club from England that we met in European competition and our opponents in this season’s Champions League final on Saturday night.

Manchester City were the holders of the now defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup back in 1971 and going strong once again, as they made it through to the semi-finals in their bid to become the first side to retain the trophy in its 11-year history.

Standing in their way was Dave Sexton’s Chelsea side, the newly anointed Kings of the King’s Road and freshly crowned FA Cup winners, following our dramatic victory across two games against Leeds United the previous April.

That qualified us for the Cup Winners’ Cup for the first time and we had beaten Aris Salonika, CSKA Sofia and Club Bruges on the way to the semi-finals, and now there was one more hurdle to overcome for the chance to meet Real Madrid or PSV Eindhoven in the final in Athens.

‘I remember the reaction when the draw was made,’ said Derek Smethurst, a member of the 1970/71 Chelsea squad who was speaking from his home in Florida for an interview with the Chelsea matchday programme a few years back.

‘It was: “Oh, at least we don't have to go abroad.” Eddie McCreadie, our left-back, was a terrible flier and it used to get to me a bit when I'd see him, one of the toughest guys on the team, terrified! Better to be in England than travelling halfway across Europe...’

Smethurst’s name is not one that crops up often in conversations about Chelsea’s history, for he made only 19 appearances across his three-year spell at the club between 1968 and 1971, scoring five times. But one of those goals was of such importance during our first run to European glory that it will surely be part of the wider conversation leading up to the game with Manchester City at the weekend.

Born in Durban, South Africa, he had waited patiently to make the move to Chelsea. He first served in the army for two years having been connected with the Blues via our assistant manager at the time, Ron Suart, who had worked with Smethurst’s brother during his time at Blackpool.

Even then, Smethurst had to play as an amateur for two years before signing professional terms shortly before our European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final with City. He had appeared only nine times for the club’s first team at this point, but injuries to Peter Osgood and Ian Hutchinson necessitated his elevation to Sexton’s side.

Picking up the story, Smethurst needed no prompting about the details – he remembered it like it was yesterday.

‘Manchester City had a great team for four or five years under Joe Mercer and most of their team were ball players, they weren't the “thump and grind” type, but both sides were struggling with injuries for this game and there were a few youngsters called into action,’ he said of the first leg, which took place at Stamford Bridge.

‘I was playing up front in place of Peter Osgood and after half-time Dave Sexton pushed David Webb, who was a defender, forward to play alongside me. We were peppering them, so the manager put him up front to do what he normally did at the back, which was primarily to win tackles and headers.’

Such tactics are unlikely to be on show in Porto on Saturday, but at the time it was rarer to see English teams who consistently played through the lines, as the condition of the pitches made a more direct approach the logical option for most managers.

And it paved the way for our victory in this game, too, as Webb, our match-winner in the 1970 FA Cup final replay triumph over Leeds, turned provider on this occasion.‘I believe it was his header that set up my goal,’ Smethurst recalled. ‘It went over my right shoulder and as it bounced I hit it with no back swing and it was a sweet connection – it's the most difficult strike in the book because you're running forward and the ball is coming from behind you, over your shoulder.

‘I believe it was his header that set up my goal,’ Smethurst recalled. ‘It went over my right shoulder and as it bounced I hit it with no back swing and it was a sweet connection – it's the most difficult strike in the book because you're running forward and the ball is coming from behind you, over your shoulder.

‘There's no way I was controlling it because Tony Book was coming, and I just stroked a side-footer past Joe Corrigan. He had no chance because he was coming to his near post and the ball went to the back post. I think he was expecting me to control it and turn, but I just went for it. Up until that point we'd hit everything at him, but it was all at a comfortable height, so the first strike that was low and in the corner went past him.

‘We played really well – we hammered them – and then we did the same up at Maine Road in the second leg.’

On that occasion, it was an own-goal by Corrigan’s replacement between the sticks, Ron Healey, that settled the game and, indeed, the tie in our favour. Smethurst once again led the line, but by the time of the final, against Real Madrid, Osgood was deemed fit enough to start.

That game finished in a 1-1 draw and back in those pre-penalty shoot-out days, the two teams simply did it all again a couple of days later. Preparations were not, shall we say, befitting of such an illustrious occasion.

‘The night before the game I ended up in a Greek restaurant having dinner with five others, including Charlie Cooke. You know the Greek tradition of throwing plates in celebration? You're supposed to do that from the front row, but they were flying in from the back, over six or seven tables! Charlie was the main one. Had we had a lot to drink? Let's just say nobody drank the water…’

Smethurst subsequently got on in the replay for the final 15 minutes, replacing Osgood after he had scored our second in a 2-1 victory. As a result, he become the first South African to win a European title, as well as the first overseas player to do so with an English side.

Hopefully come full-time on Saturday night we will have a new goalscoring hero in a European tie against Manchester City to toast – although perhaps we’ll leave the plates on the table this time.