Wayne Rooney Leads Manchester United Past Chelsea in the Champions League

Manchester United took Round 1 of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup against Premier League rivals Chelsea with a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

Wayne Rooney scored the match's only goal while Chelsea failed to break apart the United defense. The Blues were the more dangerous side at times, but United dug in and held on for the win.

Chelsea had a definite argument for a penalty near the end of the match, but we'll get into that later. 

When it's all said and done though, the result sets up a highly anticipated replay at Old Trafford next week, with United hoping to capitalize on their away goal advantage.

Manchester United: Survival at Stamford Bridge

United started the match with some sloppy play, but eventually settled down and dug in after a dodgy 20 minutes. 

The Red Devils drew first blood via a deft Wayne Rooney finish. Michael Carrick got the whole affair rolling with a beautiful lob toward the far corner, which Ryan Giggs controlled with equal aplomb. 

The Welsh Wizard kept ahead of his defender before making a lovely sharp pass towards the center of the penalty area. The always controversial Rooney then guided the ball past the Chelsea keeper toward the near post, which gave the ball a quick kiss goodbye into the back of the Blues' net.

United kept up their attack for most of the first half, but were found on the back of a vicious Chelsea counter-attack during the first half's closing moments. 

Patrice Evra saved United's lead after clearing Frank Lampard's rebound shot in front of the goal line following a dangerous Chelsea attack initiated by Didier Drogba.

United started the second half very much like the first as Chelsea came out of the tunnel at halftime with all engines going at full steam, but Nemanja Vidic and friends kept United ahead.

Rafael was sadly forced off with a knee injury. The young Brazilian looked solid in the first half, but fell victim to a series of hard challenges. Antonio Valencia dropped back into defense to make room for Nani off the bench. 

The Ecuadorian winger did a fine job in Rafael's place, despite little to no experience at right back.

United were forced to really dig in during the second half in order to survive a nonstop Chelsea attack. The Blues dominated possession while United rarely got forward despite a plethora of attacking talent on the pitch. They'll be giving Edwin van der Sar quite a huge pat on the back because the Dutch keeper made quite a few saves to protect United's advantage.

The biggest talking point by far will be Patrice Evra getting away with a poor challenge on Ramires at the top of the Unite box. It was clearly a penalty, but the ref ruled in the Red Devils' favor. 

United may be deserving of some karma after their league trip to Stamford Bridge last month was coated in penalty controversy, but are incredibly lucky to return to Old Trafford with the wininng advantage in hand.

Chelsea:  Bad Finishing + Bad Luck = Defeat

As previously mentioned, the Blues were the better team at the start, with Drogba forcing van der Sar to slap the ball over the crossbar following a hard right-footed shot inside the 20-minute mark.

However, the Blues defense was caught off guard a few minutes later after Michael Carrick's through lob helped Giggs set up Rooney for the go ahead. Chelsea survived United's consistent attack for most of the first half's remainder, but came alive during the half's closing moments. 

Drogba got by Rafael and sliced a deadly cross towards the the center of the United penalty area, but Torres failed to get any real power on what should have been a sitter. 

The ball surprised Frank Lampard after it glanced off the far post, just out of Van der Sar's reach, but as previously mentioned, the English attacker's chip shot was cleared away by Evra.

The Blues opened the second half with a new fire lit underneath their proverbial behinds, but struggled to break apart the United defense. Torres failed to finish on multiple occasions, but did force van der Sar into a fine save halfway through the second half.

Chelsea were clearly missing new signing Daivd Luiz, who was forced to the sidelines due to appearing for his previous side Benfica during the tournament's early stages. Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry looked unsure of each other in the first half during United's most dangerous moments, but the two seemed to get more comfortable at the back as the second half wore on.

Drogba, who was Chelsea's most dangerous player for most of the match, surprisingly made way for Nicolas Anelka with 20 minutes remaining, but the Frenchman failed to find the back of the United net in his stead.

Chelsea will have every right to cry foul of the ref for not giving them a penalty after Evra's challenge on Ramires, but will only have themselves to blame for failing to finish on multiple occasions during their second-half dominance.

Man of the Match

Wayne Rooney was as diabolical as ever.

He scored the only goal of the match following a great set-up via Carrick and Giggs. He was the driving force of every United attack, plus he consistently dropped back to help his compatriots survive Chelsea's second-half onslaught.

Also, he deserves a little yellow banana sticker next to his name for not having any dirty conversations with the camera. Rooney's character is nothing short of deplorable, but he was the best man on the pitch by a mile.

Honorable mention to Edwin van der Sar for making all the stops and Didier Drogba for being a bull in a china shop. 

The decision to sub him out of the match was a bad call on Carlo Ancelotti's part.

Next for Chelsea and Manchester United

The Blues welcome bottom feeders Wigan Atletic to Stamford Bridge, while United returns to Old Trafford to face an emerging Fulham side on Saturday before the two side meet back up at Old Trafford next Tuesday for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.