Thomas Tuchel’s side saw off Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid with a display of resilient defending and swift counter-attacking that saw them win 3-1 on aggregate, having drawn 1-1 in Madrid last week.

Chelsea thoroughly deserved their victory, which would have been by a greater margin but for a succession of fine saves from their former keeper Thibault Courtois.

Chelsea goalscorer Mason Mount, said: “I can’t put into words. Great performance tonight.

“It was a tough, tough game. We had a couple of opportunities where we won the ball and should’ve scored but we got the one late on and it’s great.

“We haven’t won nothing yet. Hopefully we’ve got two massive cup finals and hopefully we can win.”

Tuchel made just one change, dropping his first-leg goalscorer Christian Pulisic in favour of Kai Havertz, who had scored twice at the weekend playing as a false nine. It was to prove an inspired switch.

Zidane also made significant changes, bringing back former Chelsea favourite Eden Hazard and captain Sergio Ramos, who had not played since March.

Madrid looked the more threatening side from the start, with Luka Modric orchestrating everything from the heart of midfield.

Modric and his midfield partner Toni Kroos first tested Edouard Mendy by shooting from long-range, before Courtois had to fist away a swerving, dipping long shot from Antonio Rudiger.

Werner did put the ball past Courtois in the 18th minute when Mount fed Ben Chilwell for a cross from the left, but the German striker was dismayed to see his effort ruled out for offside. Karim Benzema was then denied twice by Mendy, who saved the striker’s shot on the turn superbly in the 26th minute and then tipped over a goalbound header.

But in between those scares, when Chelsea had their keeper to thank for keeping them in the game, Werner struck. The young German has missed some sitters since arriving from RB Leipzig last year, but this was one chance he could not fail to convert. Ngolo Kante, outstanding again, started the move with a driving run from midfield, exchanging passes with Werner before putting Havertz in on goal. The German dinked the ball high over Courtois and on to the crossbar, and when it dropped, Werner was following up to head it over the line from barely a yard.

It was the goal Chelsea needed to take the pressure off, and they started the second half strongly. They could have scored three times in the first eight minutes. Havertz headed an Azpilicueta cross against the bar, Thiago Silva headed over the bar from a Chilwell free-kick, and Mount shot high over after running in on goal.

As Madrid went pushing forward in search of an equaliser that would take the game into extra-time, so gaps opened up for Chelsea to exploit with their swift counter-attacking. On the hour mark, Werner and Havertz led a charge clear on goal, but Courtois saved the latter’s shot with his legs. Soon afterwards Werner ran from inside his own half and unselfishly passed to Kante alongside him, but again the big Belgian goalkeeper’s feet proved a barrier too much.

Silva missed with another header from a Mount corner, and Pulisic, Werner’s replacement, shot wide and sent in a low cross that the sliding Havertz could not divert into the net from close range.

Each time it looked like Chelsea might be made to pay for their profligacy, but Madrid just could not find a way past the stoic defending of Silva, Andreas Christensen, and Rudiger, playing in a mask to protect the facial injury he sustained last week.

But all Chelsea’s worries were put to bed in the closing stages when Mount struck the killer blow to put the game beyond Madrid’s reach. Kante won the ball, as he had been doing all night, and fed Pulisic on the right. The American winger drew Courtois and then slid a low cross to the centre of goal, where Mount pounced to put the ball in the net. The England midfielder was last seen at the bottom of a huge blue pile-on by the corner flag as Chelsea could begin celebrating their journey to Istanbul before the final whistle. A flurry of late subsitutions served merely to run down the clock to the inevitable outpouring of Chelsea joy and Madid despair when referee Daniele Orsato finally signalled the end.

So it will be an all-English final in Istanbul, with City favourites, but the way Chelsea are playing, anything can happen.

CHELSEA 3-4-3 E Mendy 8; Christensen 7, Thiago Silva 8, Rudiger 7 (Zouma 89); Azpilicueta 7 (James 88), Kante 9, Jorginho 7, Chilwell 7; Mount 8 (Ziyech 89), Havertz 8 (Giroud 89), Werner 7 (Pulisic 67)

REAL MADRID 4-3-3 Courtois 9; Militao 7, Ramos 7, Nacho 7, F Mendy 6 (Valverde 62); Modric 9, Casemiro 7 (Rodrygo 76), Kroos 8; Vinicius Junior 6 (Asensio 62), Benzema 7, Hazard 6 (Diaz 88).

Ref: Daniele Orsato (Italy)