United, Chelsea reach semis

LONDON – Manchester United and Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday, putting at least two English teams into the last four of Europe’s top club competition.

United routed AS Roma 7-1 in the second leg of the quarterfinals to advance 8-3 on aggregate. Chelsea came back from a goal down to edge Valencia 2-1 and advance 3-2 on aggregate.Michael Essien scored the winning goal in injury time.Two-time champion United got two goals each from Michael Carrick and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Ryan Giggs played a part in four of the seven.Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra also scored for United at Old Trafford, where fans fought with police outside the stadium before kick-off.”It was a fantastic performance.The play, (the) penetration (was) absolutely superb,” United manager Alex Ferguson said.”We can’t wait for the semi-finals now.”Carrick took a cross from Ronaldo in the 11th minute and sent a shot in to the top right corner from just outside the area.Smith, who broke his leg in February 2006 and has played sparingly since recovering, scored the second in the 17th with an almost identical goal, but this time off a pass from Giggs.Rooney made it 3-0 two minutes later, knocking a cross from Giggs in off the post from just outside the box, and Ronaldo dribbled into the center and shot the ball past Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni in the 44th.Ronaldo added his second goal in the 49th by tapping in a cross from Giggs from close range, and Carrick got his second in the 60th off a cross from Gabriel Heinze.Evra added the final goal in the 81st, 12 minutes after Daniele De Rossi scored for Roma.United is trying to repeat its 1999 performance, when it won the Champions League, the FA Cup and Premier League.This year, the English team leads the Premier League and is also in the semifinals of the FA Cup.Chelsea, which trails United by only three points in the English league, is looking to win four trophies.The two-time defending English champions already have won the League Cup and are also in the semifinals of the FA Cup.Essien, who has recently been sidelined with a knee injury, scored the winner Tuesday with a hard shot to the near post.Fernando Morientes gave Valencia the lead in the 32nd, sliding to knock in a cross from Joaquin Sanchez.But Andriy Shevchenko equalized for Chelsea in the 52nd, scoring from close range after a free kick from Essien.”A late goal hurts because it leaves you with no time to keep your chances alive.It’s one of the worst fates a team can suffer,” Valencia coach Quique Sanchez Flores said.Valencia also took the lead in the first leg last week at Stamford Bridge but had to settle for a 1-1 draw.Meanwhile, ugly pre-match clashes between police and AS Roma fans marred Manchester United’s stunning 7-1 Champions League victory at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.Police and fans clashed briefly outside the ground ahead of a tense quarterfinal, second-leg tie which turned out to be one of the greatest European performances ever seen at Old Trafford.Up to 100 people were involved in the flare-up shortly before kick-off although a Greater Manchester Police spokesman told AFP there had been only “a minor disturbance between a small number of people”.Greater Manchester Police later confirmed that 18 people had been arrested as a result of the trouble but that there were no reported injuries.Witnesses said that Manchester United fans had tried to rile Italian ones but the police intervened swiftly to prevent trouble.Television pictures showed officers circling crowds with batons and dogs as well as some missiles being thrown at police.Fans were later shown being escorted into the ground just over an hour before the match started.Before the match, two Roma fans said they were too afraid to go inside Old Trafford for fear of being harmed after the match.Nampa-APChelsea came back from a goal down to edge Valencia 2-1 and advance 3-2 on aggregate.Michael Essien scored the winning goal in injury time.Two-time champion United got two goals each from Michael Carrick and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Ryan Giggs played a part in four of the seven.Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra also scored for United at Old Trafford, where fans fought with police outside the stadium before kick-off.”It was a fantastic performance.The play, (the) penetration (was) absolutely superb,” United manager Alex Ferguson said.”We can’t wait for the semi-finals now.”Carrick took a cross from Ronaldo in the 11th minute and sent a shot in to the top right corner from just outside the area.Smith, who broke his leg in February 2006 and has played sparingly since recovering, scored the second in the 17th with an almost identical goal, but this time off a pass from Giggs.Rooney made it 3-0 two minutes later, knocking a cross from Giggs in off the post from just outside the box, and Ronaldo dribbled into the center and shot the ball past Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni in the 44th.Ronaldo added his second goal in the 49th by tapping in a cross from Giggs from close range, and Carrick got his second in the 60th off a cross from Gabriel Heinze.Evra added the final goal in the 81st, 12 minutes after Daniele De Rossi scored for Roma.United is trying to repeat its 1999 performance, when it won the Champions League, the FA Cup and Premier League.This year, the English team leads the Premier League and is also in the semifinals of the FA Cup.Chelsea, which trails United by only three points in the English league, is looking to win four trophies.The two-time defending English champions already have won the League Cup and are also in the semifinals of the FA Cup.Essien, who has recently been sidelined with a knee injury, scored the winner Tuesday with a hard shot to the near post.Fernando Morientes gave Valencia the lead in the 32nd, sliding to knock in a cross from Joaquin Sanchez.But Andriy Shevchenko equalized for Chelsea in the 52nd, scoring from close range after a free kick from Essien.”A late goal hurts because it leaves you with no time to keep your chances alive.It’s one of the worst fates a team can suffer,” Valencia coach Quique Sanchez Flores said.Valencia also took the lead in the first leg last week at Stamford Bridge but had to settle for a 1-1 draw.Meanwhile, ugly pre-match clashes between police and AS Roma fans marred Manchester United’s stunning 7-1 Champions League victory at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.Police and fans clashed briefly outside the ground ahead of a tense quarterfinal, second-leg tie which turned out to be one of the greatest European performances ever seen at Old Trafford.Up to 100 people were involved in the flare-up shortly before kick-off although a Greater Manchester Police spokesman told AFP there had been only “a minor disturbance between a small number of people”.Greater Manchester Police later confirmed that 18 people had been arrested as a result of the trouble but that there were no reported injuries.Witnesses said that Manchester United fans had tried to rile Italian ones but the police intervened swiftly to prevent trouble.Television pictures showed officers circling crowds with batons and dogs as well as some missiles being thrown at police.Fans were later shown being escorted into the ground just over an hour before the match started.Before the match, two Roma fans said they were too afraid to go inside Old Trafford for fear of being harmed after the match.Nampa-AP