An away goal from Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a 1-0 first-leg win in their Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
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| Rooney after scoring the only goal of the game |
On 24 minutes the under-fire England striker beat Petr Cech with a well-placed low finish after excellent build-up play from Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick.
Chelsea had their chances - Fernando Torres made it 10 games without a goal since joining from Liverpool but he hit the post and had a towering header kept out in style by Edwin van der Sar - but they were unable to break down a stubborn United, who at times looked irresistible on the counter attack.
There was also late drama as Chelsea were denied a cast-iron penalty when Ramires was brought down by last-man Patrice Evra, the Spanish referee signalling that the Frenchman took the ball, while Torres was correctly booked right at the death after a dive in the area.
The result leaves Chelsea on the brink of yet another Champions League exit - the only major trophy they have failed to win with Roman Abramovich as chairman - although a stirring second-half performance should give them confidence ahead of the April 12 second leg at Old Trafford.
The first half ebbed and flowed and United, on the balance of play, were deserved leaders going into the break.
But Chelsea had their chances, opening with a superb move that saw Rio Ferdinand - returning after two months out - deny Torres with a superb interception, while Van der Sar was at his acrobatic best to tip Didier Drogba’s crashing drive over.
United quickly regained their composure and took the lead on 24 minutes, before dominating the rest of the first half until a thrilling finale.
Carrick’s crossfield pass to Giggs seemed ambitious at best but the veteran winger exploited Jose Bosingwa’s hesitance with a wonderful first touch, taking him outside the Portuguese full-back before he drilled in an inch-perfect cut-back that Rooney met with a placed drive in off the post
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