Ghana midfielder Michael Essien scored his third goal in two matches for Chelsea on Wednesday night as they beat Zilina 4-1 in Slovakia.
The Blues ran riot in the place where it all began for their billionaire owner.
Tuning in from his yacht, anchored off the coast of Alaska, Roman Abramovich launched the Chelski era with a 2-0 win in Zilina in 2003.
Seven years, eight trophies and six managers later, they are still waiting to land the holy grail - and by last night, John Terry was the only survivor of ill-fated tinkering in Monaco, momentous battles with Barcelona, the ghost goal at Anfield and a monsoon in Moscow supplemented by his tears.
Terry was still haunted by his banana-skin moment from the penalty spot as Chelsea launched their latest crusade back in Slovakia, lamenting: "Until we win that trophy, I'm not going to die a happy man - and that's a fact.
"I owe it to every Chelsea fan because of what happened at the final in Moscow two years ago. I still hold that as a big responsibility - I let the fans, the players and the club down by missing that penalty."
Zilina's Pod Dubnom may not trip off the tongue like the San Siro, Nou Camp, Bernabeu or other Champions League venues of yore. It's more like Norwich, without Delia's pies or tractors in the car park.
But Chelsea were still mobbed to such an extent as they left their hotel that they were forced to take the bus to the stadium - even though it was only 150 yards away.
Carlo Ancelotti's men were not to be denied their stroll for long, though. It took them just 13 minutes to escape the unwanted attention of starstruck Slovaks, Yossi Benayoun's fine pass releasing Nicolas Anelka down the left and his cut-back was devoured by Michael Essien, the Ghanaian midfielder's third goal in two games.
Strangely, the atmosphere was already subdued for the richest night in Zilina's history before Essien struck, but any provincial yelping for an upset evaporated completely before half an hour had elapsed.
Two goals in four minutes from Anelka put the Blues on Easy Street, the first a neat left-foot finish from Florent Malouda's lofted pass and the second a tap-in after skipper Terry's header came back off the bar.
Only Mario Pecalka's heroic intervention denied Daniel Sturridge the formality of making it 4-0 before the interval. In truth, the monastic silence which had descended on the Pod was eloquent confirmation that the contest was already over.