MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United ended Chelsea’s hopes of UEFA Champions League glory with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford Tuesday, while Lionel Messi grabbed a record 48th goal of the season as Barcelona swept aside Shakhtar Donetsk.
Strikes from Javier Hernandez and Ji-Sung Park were enough to keep Carlo Ancelotti’s men at bay, handing United a 3-1 aggregate victory.
The Blues were unable to turn the quarter-final tie around, as Hernandez’s close-range strike from a Ryan Giggs cross on the stroke of half-time extended United’s 1-0 lead from the first-leg in London.
Chelsea’s evening went from bad to worse with Ramires being handed a second booking in the 70th minute.
Substitute Didier Drogba breathed life into the encounter when he lashed a shot past Edwin van der Sar on 77 minutes. However, midfield ace Park took just seconds to restore United’s two-goal lead, with Giggs again playing the setup man before the South Korean applied the finish to put the final nail in Chelsea’s dream of European success.
The result sees Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, still unbeaten in all competitions at home this term, advance to their fourth Champions League semi-final in five seasons, while they also remain on course for a coveted European, Premier League and FA Cup Treble.
Barcelona had little trouble progressing Tuesday as the Spanish giant entered its second-leg with a 5-1 cushion over Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukrainian outfit failed to put a dent in Barca’s massive lead as Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi notched the game’s only goal — his 48th of the campaign and a Spanish record.
Barca and United now await the results of Wednesday’s quarter-final ties featuring Real Madrid, who holds a four-goal lead over Tottenham, and Inter Milan, who faces a three-goal deficit in its second-leg against Schalke.
