Rooney (L) directs an angled shot into the Chelsea goal to put Manchester United ahead
Wayne Rooney is waiting to hear if he will make one Wembley date with Manchester United - but took them a giant stride closer to another with the winner in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Chelsea.
While in Spain, Barcelona all but ensured that a semi-final match up with La Liga rivals, Real Madrid is on the cards after they emphatically trounced Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1.
Back in England, Rooney will discover on Thursday if he can figure in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City following his appeal against a two-game ban for swearing into a television camera after scoring his third goal in United's win at West Ham on Saturday, reports the BBC.
The striker was all smiles, however, when he slid home the first-half goal that gave United their first win at Stamford Bridge in nine years and a precious advantage to take into the second leg at Old Trafford next Tuesday.
Rooney rounded off good work by Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs to take centre stage for all the right reasons in the aftermath of his encounter with the cameras at Upton Park and keep United's ambition of playing in the Champions League final at Wembley next month on course.
Chelseaboss Carlo Ancelotti paired Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres in attack - but it was another fruitless and frustrating night for the £50m British record capture from Liverpool as his goal drought goes on.
Drogba struck a post and Patrice Evra cleared off the line from Frank Lampard in first-half injury time, while Chelsea and their supporters were infuriated when two penalty claims were rejected by Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco in the dying seconds.
Ramires tumbled under challenge from Evra while Torres went down as he tangled with Antonio Valencia. Chelsea's demands went unanswered - and Torres saw insult added to his injury when he was booked for diving.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who had Rio Ferdinand available for the first time since February, was elated at the final whistle as all his pre-match demands were fulfilled in the fight to face Inter Milan or Schalke 04 in the last four.
And victory will have tasted sweet for Ferdinand after he was taunted by Chelsea's fans following Fabio Capello's decision to reinstate John Terry to the England captaincy in place of the Manchester United defender.
United were industrious and well-organised, with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar presenting a formidable barrier with a performance that once again suggested his decision to retire at the end of the season may be premature.
He was outstanding throughout and distinguished himself with one late save from a Torres header that demonstrated his enduring powers of athleticism.
Chelsea now face a huge task at Old Trafford to rescue the tie and keep their main hope of silverware alive this season, as well as easing pressure on Ancelotti.
Ancelotti had pinned much of his hopes on the pairing of Drogba and Torres, but they were kept at bay until a late flurry of first-half activity finally unsettled United's defence.
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