The visit of Manchester City was the start of Rafael Benítez's toxic tenure at Chelsea and a year on, Stamford Bridge was hollering the name of another Spaniard whose time at the club has been fraught with unhappiness. But it's bienvenido de nuevo, Fernando Torres. Pacy, powerful and potent, he created one goal and scored the winner on a pivotal day in his and his club's season.
Twnety-eight years and a day after Marty McFly went back in time, Torres played like he had taken a trip back to 2008, when he was inarguably one of the most lethal strikers in world football. His performance could have been blemished by a catastrophic finish in the 29th minute but he made amends via an assist for André Schürrle's opener, an audacious swing of a right boot which smacked Joe Hart's crossbar and the goal which inflicted a third defeat upon Manchester City.
Super Sunday could be a seminal one for Torres. He had only scored one Premier League goal this calendar year but produced his best performance in a Chelsea shirt. Martín Demichelis, making his City debut, might have wondered whether all that footage of Torres' Chelsea displays he studied had been doctored. The culture shock was one of the harshest varieties for the Argentinian, suffering with a case of twisted blood after 90 minutes, as the absence of Vincent Kompany haunted City once again.
Manuel Pellegrini has now taken four points from 15 away from the Etihad Stadium. The fanfare which greeted his attacking signings is in danger of being overwhelmed by frustration at not addressing a defence which remains overly reliant on the injured Kompany and has sieved 11 goals in the League - nine of them away.
Despite scoring twice at Schalke midweek, pain has swiftly followed joy for Torres in a blue shirt. His encouraging second-half display at Tottenham only last month resulted in a dubious red card. Few players have experienced more comebacks than him during his two-and-a-half-years in west London but today suggested this one was credible.
Despite risking the waning Frank Lampard against Yaya Touré and Fernandinho, Chelsea's forwards, buoyed by their mobile and threatening No.9, overwhelmed City's rudderless defenders. Gary Cahill evaded the offside trap in the game's opening moments but blazed over before Torres reached a higher row with Hart pleading for mercy.
Four minutes later he dismissed the pedestrian Clichy to set up a tap-in for Schürrle. Demichelis, whose first touch was to concede an unnecessary corner, was fatefully drawn to the ball rather than the German international.
Torres' umpteenth rebirth almost yielded a first-half goal when he skinned Demichelis and navigated his way out of a cul-de-sac to ping a strike from the left of the penalty area, which cannoned back off the woodwork. Sergio Agüero forced an easy save from Petr Čech at his near post minutes before the interval, but the first 45 minutes were a familiar City performance on the road.
Then City returned rejuvenated. Agüero, perhaps the most clinical of the Premier League strikers, whacked in an equaliser on 49 minutes as Gary Cahill got caught on his toes inside the left channel. It triggered an onslaught inside the opening 10 minutes, with Javi García cursing his tame header from David Silva's free-kick which should have put the visitors ahead.
José Mourinho withdrew Lampard for John Obi Mikel to stifle the drip of City attacks while Willian replaced Schürrle, who was largely lacklustre. City fans had an easier time commanding the Portuguese to sit down, which he acknowledged with a thumbs up.
Perhaps mindful of Chelsea's failure to beat other top four contenders so far this season, Samuel Eto'o emerged for Eden Hazard in an attempt to register a stand out victory. Willian whipped in a free-kick which just evaded Branislav Ivanović with three minutes remaining, as the awesome Agüero departed hurt for Alvaro Negredo.
Then Torres pounced in the 90th minute. Willian's long ball tempted Hart outside of his area and Matija Nastasić inexplicably nodded it over him. The Chelsea striker hared after the ball with Demichelis and pummelled it into the back of the net a yard from the byline. Players, supporters and the odd press box member went berserk. Mourinho jumped into the crowd.
Welcome back, Fernando Torres.