Barcelona and Manchester United moved a step closer to a rematch of the 2009 Champions League final Tuesday as both clubs earned victories to extend their first-leg advantage and reach the semis.
Lionel Messi scored his club-record 48th goal of the season in the 43rd minute to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk and secure a comfortable 6-1 aggregate victory that had never looked in doubt.
There was more drama at Old Trafford, where Park Ji-sung secured a 2-1 win for United over 10-man Chelsea, scoring the winner less than a minute after second-half substitute Didier Drogba had equalized for the London club in the 77th. Javier Hernandez scored the opener in the 43rd as United advanced 3-1 on aggregate.
"I think we played very, very well against a very, very good team," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. "Chelsea played a big part in that game today. I thought we were the better team on the night. In a team game we had some fantastic performances, Park, Chicharito (Hernandez), all over, no one let us down."
Barcelona is now looking at a likely semifinal against archrival Real Madrid, which holds a 4-0 edge over Tottenham going into the second leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday. United will face the winner of Schalke and defending champion Inter Milan, with the German club having won the first leg 5-2 in Italy.
Barcelona, which beat United 2-0 in the final two years ago, only needed to avoid an unlikely collapse in Ukraine following its 5-1 rout in the first leg. But coach Pep Guardiola still opted against giving stars like Messi, Xavi and David Villa a rest despite upcoming games against Madrid in both the league and Copa del Rey final
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