Tevez flat out for Ferguson as he dives in to clinch Manchester United's date with Barcelona

Mark down the date in the diary now. April 23 and a game at the Nou Camp even those who loathe United will have to watch. A game when Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez will do battle with Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o and, assuming he recovers from injury, Lionel Messi.

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Ronaldinho might be sidelined but that is unlikely to worry Frank Rijkaard when the Brazilian appears to be some way past his best.

It will be a night for disconnecting phone lines and switching off mobiles. A night when Ferguson will hope to take a significant step towards that second European Cup he so desperately craves.

The draw would appear to favour United when Ferguson's fifth Champions League semi-final will start with the away leg first.

The manner in which they conquered Roma will give them confidence, too.

They survived one real scare last night when Daniele De Rossi missed a 30th-minute penalty, but they created countless chances of their own before Carlos Tevez struck in the 70th minute with a diving header from Owen Hargreaves' cross.

They had little difficulty protecting the two-goal advantage gained in Rome in the absence of Ronaldo, Rooney and Paul Scholes.

Mindful of the fact that Arsenal now follow in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday, Ferguson rested a number of key players last night and the gamble paid off handsomely. Even Gary Neville appeared briefly after his 13-month injury absence.

The only concern was the sight of a limping Rio Ferdinand, who added an injury to his right foot to the one he suffered in his left at Middlesbrough last Sunday. This time it looked like a nasty gash, given the amount of blood that had soaked his sock.

Against Barcelona, United will want their best defenders, and injuries to Ferdinand as well as Nemanja Vidic are not well-timed.

But against a Roma side, who appeared clearly resigned to losing this tie, United had little trouble creating chances.

A move that was started by the excellent Anderson ended with a header from Tevez that floated wide and when Tevez sent Hargreaves clear, the England midfielder really should have scored. As it was, he forced a fine save from Doni.

Roma offered little in response. Mirko Vucinic tested Edwin van der Sar, as did Mancini. But their football lacked the urgency of their hosts, surprising given the identity of United's substitutes.

Hargreaves was having a wonderful game. Keen, no doubt, to prove that Ferguson has been wrong to overlook him on regular basis, he was as effective in providing protection for the back four as he was in attack.

After racing on to a neat pass from Tevez, he delivered a terrific cross from the right that Ryan Giggs was more than a little embarrassed to waste.

The more advanced role he was given last night was clearly suiting Hargreaves, even if his best position remains as a holding midfielder.

Roma were poor by comparison. Nothing like as good as they even were last week and nowhere near as impressive as a team that is currently sitting second in Serie A should be.

Judging by the victories Arsenal and Liverpool enjoyed in Milan in the previous round of this competition, Italian football clearly is not quite what it was.

Only when they were awarded what initially appeared to be a harsh penalty did Roma suddenly pose any kind of threat to United.

Van der Sar's failure to hold a vicious shot from Vucinic caused some anxiety in the United defence and the challenge that followed from Brown on Mancini resulted in the defender making contact with the Italian just before he did so with the ball.

Much to the horror of Brown and to the disgust of Ferguson, referee Tom Henning Ovrebo pointed to the penalty spot.

Fortunately for United, De Rossi guided his effort yards over the crossbar, pulling his shirt over his head to conceal his embarrassment.

There were further anxious moments after the break, not least when Van der Sar spilled another effort from Vucinic and almost presented Taddei with an opportunity to score.

But that victory in Rome proved decisive in this tie, and now United once again join Liverpool and Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals. A first all-English final? The two best attacks in world football will now decide.

MANCHESTER UTD (4-1-4-1): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Pique, Silvestre; Carrick (O'Shea 74); Park, Hargreaves, Anderson (Neville 81), Giggs (Rooney 74); Tevez.

ROMA(4-2-3-1): Doni; Panucci, Mexes, Juan, Cassetti (Tonetto 56); Pizarro Guily 69), De Rossi; Taddei (Esposito 81), Perrotta, Mancini; Vucinic. Booked: Perrotta.

Man of the match: Owen Hargreaves.

Referee: Tom Henning Ovrebo (Nor)