With 16 appearances in the FA Cup final to date, only Manchester United and Arsenal have enjoyed more success in the tournament's latter stages than the Blues.

And that naturally resulted in several memorable semi-final days out for Blues supporters, both young and old.

So, let’s reflect on five memorable Chelsea victories from the 21st century that have taken place in the penultimate round of the FA Cup.

Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle, 2000

A few months before demolition work on the old Wembley began, there was a semi-final victory for the Blues to savour.

Newcastle were the opposition for Gianluca Vialli’s side, who were fresh off a famous 3-1 win over Barcelona. A tight semi-final followed, best remembered for one of Gus Poyet’s finest hours in a Chelsea shirt.

The Uruguayan opened the scoring after 16 minutes. Picked out perfectly by a clever pass from George Weah, Poyet lobbed the ball over Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given with an instinctive finish.

Newcastle rallied after the break and Ed de Goey made an important save to keep out Kieron Dyer’s volley. Minutes later, the Magpies levelled through Rob Lee’s powerful header.

However, it was Poyet who had the final say, striking for a second time. Soon after the Newcastle equaliser, Jon Harley’s speculative cross reached the back post where Poyet climbed superbly to head home.

The win guaranteed one more trip to the old national stadium, and Chelsea lifted the trophy after defeating Aston Villa 1-0 in the final.

Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal, 2009

Chelsea, then under the guidance of Guus Hiddink, were only a few days on from a dramatic 7-5 aggregate Champions League semi-final win over Liverpool.

But they showed no signs of fatigue under the glorious spring sunshine to see off our London rivals Arsenal late in the game.

Despite a difficult first half of the campaign, an unlikely treble was still possible heading into the tie. However, those hopes were dented when Theo Walcott’s effort deflected in off Ashley Cole to give Arsenal the lead.

But Hiddink’s team hit back before half-time. Florent Malouda cut inside Arsenal defender Emannuel Eboue and fired in at Lukasz Fabianski’s near post.

The game did drift in the second half with chances at a premium. But just as extra time appeared on the cards, Chelsea’s man for the big occasion stepped up.

With only six minutes of normal time remaining, Didier Drogba raced on to a forward pass from Frank Lampard, beat and rounded Fabianski, and tucked the ball into an unguarded net to win the game in front of the delirious Chelsea support.

The Blues would return to Wembley a month later for the final, defeating Everton 2-1 to ensure Hiddink had silverware to show for a terrific first spell in charge.

Chelsea 5-1 Tottenham, 2012

As was the case in 2009, an interim manager led Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final against London rivals. Roberto Di Matteo was in charge at the end of the 2011/12 season and his side faced an upwardly mobile Tottenham Hotspur side. It didn't appear an easy task.

Yet the Blues made a mockery of that belief and ran out comfortable winners.

After skipper John Terry made a trademark last-ditch clearance off the line to deny Rafael van der Vaart, a header before Drogba – who else? – put the Blues in front having shrugged off former teammate William Gallas.

Juan Mata then squeezed home a second from a tight angle and although Gareth Bale pulled a goal back for Spurs, a delicious dink from Ramires put us on the cusp of another final.

As was often the case during this era, Lampard then stole the show as he produced a spectacular free-kick from 30 yards that beat former Blue goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

By the time Florent Malouda added a fifth in stoppage time, only the blue half of Wembley remained full.

Di Matteo would go on to lift the FA Cup the following month after victory over Liverpool before completing a historic season in perfect style with the dramatic Champions League triumph in Munich.

Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham, 2017

When these sides next met in the semi-finals of the world’s oldest cup competition, they were undoubtedly the two form teams in the country.

Under Antonio Conte’s stewardship, the Blues were flying high at the top of the table but were only four points clear of Tottenham in second.

It felt a season-defining match for both sides – and so it would proved with Conte making a big call in leaving both Eden Hazard and Diego Costa on the bench.

Twice Willian gave us the lead. Twice Spurs levelled, first through Harry Kane and then Dele Alli.

But with less than half an hour to play, Conte introduced Hazard. Within 15 minutes, the brilliant Belgian drove a shot beyond Hugo Lloris to give us the advantage and send the Blue half of Wembley into ecstasy.

Nemanja Matic then stepped forward to end the contest with a spectacular drive from range that nearly ripped through the Wembley net. It was a staggering, remarkable finish that decisively tipped the tie our way.

Chelsea came out victorious in an enthralling encounter and within weeks were crowned Premier League champions ahead of Tottenham, although a defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup final ended hopes of domestic double.

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City, 2021

Ahead of this weekend’s meeting with Manchester City, the Blues can take comfort from the fact they came out on top the last time the two sides met at this stage of the competition in 2021.

City came into the tie, played at Wembley without fans due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, chasing a quadruple. But Thomas Tuchel had installed confidence and belief into this side, which showed against the eventual Premier League champions.

Chelsea’s thoroughly deserved win came courtesy of a single goal, scored by Hakim Ziyech who slid home Timo Werner's pass in the 55th minute.

Ziyech was a threat throughout and had seen a goal disallowed narrowly for offside prior to opening the scoring.

City fashioned little in response; the only major late scare the Blues had came when Kepa Arrizabalaga had to push out an injury-time header from Rodri.

Tuchel’s side would go on to defeat City twice more before the end of the season, once in the league before a famous night in Porto to win our second European Cup.

However, the FA Cup would prove elusive on this occasion, with Leicester City winning a closely fought final 1-0 at Wembley the following month.