Tevez goal steers United into semis

MANCHESTER, England -- Carlos Tevez capped an industrious display to steer Manchester United to a 1-0 victory over Roma and into the semifinals of the Champions League for a second successive season.

The Argentina striker put the game out of Roma's reach by scoring in the 70th minute at Old Trafford, ensuring the Premier League side went through 3-0 on aggregate.

It was Tevez's fourth goal of the European campaign and his 17th of the season -- setting up a clash with Barcelona in the last four.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson decided to leave Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney on the bench, with a crucial Premier League match to follow against Arsenal on Sunday, and the outcome could have been vastly different if the Italian side had not squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 30th minute.

Wes Brown was adjudged to have brought down Mancini in the penalty area and referee Tom Henning had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot.

However, Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi blasted his spot-kick high over the crossbar to United's obvious relief.

Roma re-grouped and Mirko Vucinic came close to making the breakthrough in the 48th minute when Edwin van der Sar spilled his shot.

He tried to muscle in on the rebound but Rio Ferdinand, showing no sign of the foot injury that made him doubtful for the game, stood firm and made a crucial block.

The only goal came in the 70th minute when Tevez peeled away from his marker to head home a superb right-wing cross from Owen Hargreaves.

The result sets United up for a heavyweight semifinal showdown with Barcelona, with the winners facing Liverpool or Chelsea in the Moscow final.

Both sides are unbeaten in the competition this season and Ferguson said: "If we've got a full squad we've got a chance -- somebody has got to lose.

"You have opportunities in life when you've got something special. We have got something special and we want to go there and show that -- we have to go there and be positive." E-mail to a friend