A Paul Scholes stunner proved enough for Manchester United to book their spot in Moscow and eliminate Barcelona from the Champions League semi-final.
The tie was in the balance following a 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou where Cristiano Ronaldo chipped an early penalty off target.
There could be no doubting the Catalans had the brighter start, but it was United who opened the scoring with their first shot on goal. Gianluca Zambrotta’s misplaced pass under pressure from Ronaldo fell to Paul Scholes, who unleashed an unstoppable right-foot screamer from over 20 metres into the far top corner.
Barca fought back and Edwin Van der Sar beat away a Leo Messi solo effort, but this opened up the game and left room for the counter where Ji-Sung Park sidefooted inches past the upright.
Deco swept over from Samuel Eto’o’s assist and the Portuguese international shaved a coat of paint off the base of the near upright with another well-worked team move. Van Der Sar spilled a cross and Patrice Evra managed a crucial challenge as a Barca boot came sliding in to meet the loose ball.
United threatened again at the other end as Nani’s glancing header skimmed the far post from Park’s cross. Nani thought he had doubled their lead on 53 minutes, but the tap-in was deflected out for a corner, while Valdes had his palms stung by Carlos Tevez.
Wes Brown charged down Messi’s attempt for a corner and Nani blasted over on the counter. Thierry Henry was thrown on for the final half-hour and 17-year-old Bojan, the former Arsenal star’s header well smothered by Van Der Sar.
The final minutes were a siege on the United area, but Manchester held on with the same solid defending that had kept them on level terms in the first leg. Barcelona’s season is now to be considered a failure, as they have lost sight of the Liga title and gone out of the Champions League in the semi-final.
It will be an all-English affair in Moscow regardless of what happens on Wednesday, as Manchester United will face either Liverpool or Chelsea.
Man Utd 1-0 Barcelona (1-0 on agg)
Scorers: Scholes 14 (M)
Manchester United: Van der Sar; Hargreaves, Ferdinand, Brown, Evra (Silvestre 93); Nani (Giggs 77), Scholes (Fletcher 77), Carrick, Park; Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez
Barcelona: Valdes; Zambrotta, Puyol, Milito, Abidal; Xavi, Yaya Toure’ (Gudjohnsen 88), Deco; Messi, Eto’o (Bojan 71), Iniesta (Henry 60)
Ref: Fandel (Ger)
