United Pass Chelsea to Reach Semi Final

Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United FC are one step from a UEFA Champions League final appearance at Wembley after overcoming ten-man Chelsea FC, Sir Alex Ferguson's men securing a 3-1 aggregate victory in this all-English quarter-final.

Javier Hernández doubled United's aggregate advantage on the stroke of half-time and although Chelsea shrugged off Ramires' sending-off with an equaliser from substitute Didier Drogba, Park Ji-Sung extinguished the London club's flickering hopes within 60 seconds. United can now look forward to a fourth semi-final appearance in five years with only FC Schalke 04 or FC Internazionale Milano blocking their path to Wembley, scene of their first European triumph in 1968.

Sir Alex Ferguson said before this game that Chelsea had an "obsession" with winning the UEFA Champions League and for Carlo Ancelotti's team their quest must go on. They have suffered more painful defeats than this – not least to United in the 2008 final shoot-out – but will head south ruing their failure to profit from their early supremacy. They had arrived looking to become the first visitors to prevail here since their own 2-1 triumph on 3 April last year and, in a white-hot atmosphere, made a positive start.

Ancelotti had gambled on dropping Drogba and starting with Fernando Torres as a lone striker – supported by Nicolas Anelka, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda – and the Spain forward nodded wide an Anelka cross after 12 minutes. He then set up Anelka to whistle a shot narrowly wide: it was not the Frenchman's only attempt.

He sent another effort just over the crossbar and was also foiled by a superb tackle from Edwin van der Sar as he looked to round the Dutchman outside the box. Lampard, teed up by Malouda, spurned arguably Chelsea's best opportunity, however, shooting too close to Van der Sar.

United were not just sitting back. Wayne Rooney and Park, stationed behind Hernández, were looking lively and in the 27th minute Rooney's cross set up Hernández to head in only for an offside call to deny the Mexican.

Hernández made up for that disappointment with the opening goal two minutes before the break. When Chelsea only half-cleared a free-kick, the impressive Rooney picked out Giggs out on the right and he exchanged passes with John O'Shea before bursting into the box to deliver a low ball across goal that Hernández, at the back post, buried into the roof of the net.

Ancelotti responded by sending out Drogba for the second half in place of Torres. The Ivorian flashed a shot narrowly wide from 20 metres but the tie looked to have slipped away from Chelsea when Ramires collected a second yellow card for a foul on Nani with 20 minutes remaining.

Drogba instead revived their hopes by chesting down Michael Essien's through ball and finding the far corner of Van der Sar's net – but not for long. Within 60 seconds Giggs had played in Park who fired across Cech to secure United's passage.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager

"The whole team have played with great credit. It was a very tough game, Chelsea played well for a lot of the game and we played well for most of it too. We had two teams picked tonight, hopefully I picked the right one. The other option was to play Park [Ji-Sung] in Wayne's position and put Wayne up front and leave [Javier Hernández] out. But that's where you get luck, because he scored the first goal.

We've said it so many times; Ryan Giggs is incredible, a unique person and player. He made a big contribution to the goal in the first game, and tonight. He had a part in the second goal too. So it's a great contribution and his experience and composure were vital. He's lucky he's got the physique, he doesn't carry any weight and never has. He's always had great balance and he's never lost that; he looks after himself – he has to. To play until 37 years of age, it must be a tremendous sacrifice.

I think for quite a while [Rooney's] been playing well. He's enjoying the position he's playing because it's giving him a lot of freedom to use his energy, and in that position you do need that. I'll watch the semi-final tomorrow night. Schalke should get through really, but it's still interesting to watch and you never know; football is strange. But I would think Schalke should get through."

Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea manager

"We started well. We had control and in the first 30 minutes we were good; good possession, good attacking play. The last ten minutes of the first half was more difficult; they had more opportunities, scored a goal and in the second half it was difficult to come back. We tried obviously, but with ten men it was really hard.

We're out of the Champions League, this is not good for us. We are disappointed, but this is football. We have to be able to look forward because we have other games to play and to win if possible, because obviously every one of us wants to play in the Champions League next season."