United's Barca reward - Tevez header sets up battle of the entertainers - Sport

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A 70th-minute Carlos Tevez goal earned the victory to supplement the 2-0 win in the first leg of the teams' quarter-final in Italy last week.

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Carlos stoops to conquer: Tevez heads the winner

With Barcelona beating Schalke 1-0, United will now travel to the Nou Camp on Wednesday week — St George's Day — with a mouthwatering return at Old Trafford the following Tuesday.

The winners will meet either Liverpool or Chelsea in the Moscow final on May 21. Ferguson said: "Sometimes you get opportunities in life to do something special and we have that opportunity now.

"We have something special with this team and we now have to go out there and show how special we are.

"Firstly, I am delighted to be in the semi-final and it is terrific we are facing a team like Barcelona. We are looking forward to it already and I think by that time I will have a fully-fit squad."

Ferguson gambled last night by leaving out Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes, while defender Rio Ferdinand played with the foot injury he picked up at Middlesbrough at the weekend.

Ferdinand completed last night's game but had three stitches in a wound in his other foot at half-time.

Despite this, Ferguson believes that he will have all his key players ready for the first game in Spain, for which Barcelona will be without their captain, defender Carles Puyol, who is suspended after picking up a yellow card in Spain, where Kolo Toure's brother Yaya scored the winner for a 2-0 aggregate success.

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Over and out: Daniele De Rossi skies his first-half penalty

Ferguson added: "We have far greater energy this time than our team at this stage last year. If we had been able to prepare better last year I think we would have reached the final. I think this year we are in much better condition."

United survived one scare last night when Wes Brown was judged to have conceded a penalty after half an hour but Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi blazed the spot-kick over the bar.

Ferguson called that poetic justice, adding: "It was the wrong decision for the penalty. I thought Wes had got the ball. The penalty miss made a big difference."