Scholes beat Barca to finish into Moscow Final

An eye-catching goal from Paul Scholes in early first half gave Manchester United a 1-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday to set up an all-English Champions League final against either Liverpool or Chelsea in Moscow next month.

On a night of excitement at Old Trafford in which Barcelona played terrific attacking football, it was hardly more decent that Scholes scored the goal that secured his club their place in the showdown at the Luzhniki Stadium on May 21.

Barcelona's best chance without doubt came from Messi who united his way past Scholes and Brown after 20 minutes and forced Edwin van der Sar into a diving clearance before Deco had two good chances to score in three minutes sending his first over the bar and his second narrowly wide.

Scholes was suspended for United's epic victory over Bayern Munich in the 1999 final, and Ferguson had already said he would play in the final if they qualified. He accordingly responded with a brilliant swing over shot that went high and wide of goalkeeper Victor Valdes in the 14th minute of the semi-final, second leg to give United a 1-0 aggregate victory.