Chelsea 0
Wayne Rooney put Manchester United a big step closer to the Champions League semifinals today, scoring in the first half to secure a 1-0 win over Chelsea for the club's first victory at Stamford Bridge in nine years.
Rooney followed up his hat trick in the Premier League this weekend by meeting Ryan Giggs' pass in the area and calmly slotting the ball into the net via the far post in the 24th minute of the first leg of their quarterfinal.
That was all United needed against an ineffective Chelsea, which had a late penalty appeal turned down but whose strikers Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba again failed to form the kind of potent partnership the club had hoped for.
Ramires thought he had earned a penalty when he was brought down by Patrice Evra in the area in the 90th minute, but referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco waved play on despite TV replays showing clear contact.
Torres was then booked for diving when he fell in the area a minute later under similar pressure.
With United sitting back to protect its lead, Torres came close to scoring in the 74th when his header forced a one-handed diving save from Edwin van der Sar, who also stopped Branislav Ivanovic's low shot from outside the area in the 85th as Chelsea pressed forward for the equalizer.
The hosts had looked sure to equalize in the 45th when Drogba broke in from the left and sent a loss cross into the area toward Torres, but the ball went past both the Spain striker and Van der Sar before bouncing off the far post. The rebound went straight back out to Frank Lampard, whose mishit shot was cleared off the line by Evra.
It was the closest the hosts would come to a goal and United now enters the return leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday with a big advantage.
After a tentative start from both teams, Michael Carrick started the flowing attack that led to United's breakthrough. Carrick sent a long ball down the left flank for Giggs, who broke into the area and squared the ball back toward Rooney, who slotted in his fourth goal in two games.
Rooney is facing a two-game domestic ban after a profanity-laced tirade directed at a TV camera following his hat trick at West Ham on Saturday. But the England striker showed that he is returning to form just in time to help United in its push for a treble.
Torres, however, still looks far from his best as he remained scoreless since his 50-million pound transfer from Liverpool in January.
After being dropped to the bench against Stoke at the weekend, Torres started alongside Drogba up top instead of Nicolas Anelka. While the Spain striker showed plenty of intent, he often struggled to control the ball and his touch usually deserted him when pressured by a defender.
Torres showed a flash of his ability in the 31st when he broke free of Rafael down the left flank and passed off to Yuri Zhirkov. The Russian then returned the ball to Torres in the area, who downed it on his chest before shanking his attempt at an overhead kick.
Drogba attempted a similar overhead kick in the 56th after controlling the ball with one touch, but his effort went wide of the right post.
In today's other game Andres Iniesta scored one goal and set up another as Barcelona thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1.
Iniesta gathered Lionel Messi's threaded pass before beating goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov in the second minute at Camp Nou Stadium.
Iniesta found Daniel Alves inside the area for the second in the 34th minute, before defender Gerard Pique struck his second goal in as many games in the 53rd.
Yaroslav Rakitskiy gave the Ukrainian team an away goal, shooting past goalkeeper Victor Valdes in the 60th.
But Seydou Keita restored the Spanish champions' three-goal advantage a minute later, and Xavi Hernandez completed the rout in the 86th.
- HERALD ONLINE/AP
