Manchester United news and links

Tim Dowling: An estimated 40,000 British fans will try to travel to Moscow for the Champions League final match, if they can afford it

Simmering diplomatic row threatens to prevent thousands of the clubs’ supporters travelling to Russia

It could be dismissed as sour grapes from a coach who knows he is to be fired, but Frank Rijkaard had a point yesterday when he added a barbed caveat to his glowing tribute to the strength of English club football. “I think the level of English teams is very high,” said the Dutch coach who oversaw Barcelona’s Champions League success in 2006. He added: “If it were not for the fact two had to play each other [Liverpool beat Arsenal in the quarter-finals] you could easily have had four teams in the semi-finals as it is very difficult to beat them. They are very strong and very disciplined, really very tough to beat.”

As Manchester United basked in the glory of reaching their third European Cup final yesterday there was positive news on the injury front as they turn their attentions to wrapping up the Premier League title.

There is an old tale about Paul Scholes’ years playing junior football in Salford that he would find the competition so easy he had a habit of ditching games at half-time or not bothering to turn up at all. So much so that Manchester United dispatched their then assistant manager Brian Kidd to watch and to encourage Scholes to show up. Twenty years on and he has not lost that tendency to slip away quietly.

After scoring the winning goal in the Champions League semi-finals, midfield player can make up for missing out in 1999

Chelsea are the preferred opponents of the Manchester United diehards who could not bear defeat by Liverpool

Portugal winger offers no guarantees that he will stay at Old Trafford and talks only of winning trophies this season

Thousands of Manchester United supporters facing more expense as they try to get on board for the Champions League final

Chelsea edge extra time thriller to book a date with United in Moscow.

Manchester United winger has described last night’s victory over Barcelona as one of the best moments of his career

Obtaining a ticket is just one of the problems facing Manchester United fans wishing to travel to Moscow for the final of the Uefa Champions League, says Gareth A Davies.

Our poll shows that United fans want to face Liverpool in Moscow.

Manchester United defender Wes Brown is looking forward to a ‘great ending’ to the season.

Veteran goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar can scarcely believe he is on the verge of becoming a two-time Champions League winner.

Cristiano Ronaldo took another step towards becoming FIFA’S World Player of the Year but insisted the team was more important than any individual.

Manchester United and Liverpool are interested in signing Wigan midfielder Antonio Valencia, according to his agent Diego Herrera.

The Manchester United manager dismisses fears the forward could miss the Champions League final with a hip injury

Scholesy’s team mates celebrate the midfielder’s tie-winning strike.

Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney will be fit to play some part against West Ham on Saturday.

Anil Dawar on the problems facing football supporters planning to travel to Moscow for the Champions League final

Evra, Rooney and Vidic all likely to face West Ham on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo acknowledges the part fans played on Tuesday night.

Sir Alex will be in London watching tonight’s other CL semi-final.

Links to resources about Luzhniki Stadium and Moscow in general

Champions League organisers Uefa is arranging plans to help English supporters with final tickets in Moscow to get “express” Russian visas.

The key battles - Carlos Tevez v Carles Puyol and Owen Hargreaves v Andres Iniesta - and how well each player performed

Weight of history plays heavily on Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind as Paul Scholes fittingly sends his team to European final, writes Tim Rich.

Scrub the blinis and caviar from the Moscow menus and prepare for the full English. Salford’s finest, Paul Scholes, has set up an all-Premier League European Cup final in Russia. Henry Winter reports.

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has praised the qualities of the Premier League in the aftermath of his sides’ 1-0 aggregate defeat to Manchester United in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

It was not Manchester United’s most thrilling performance, but for Sir Alex Ferguson it was among the most satisfying

The key battles - Carlos Tevez v Carles Puyol and Owen Hargreaves v Andres Iniesta - and how well each player performed

The United manager said he will be happy playing either Chelsea or Liverpool in Moscow

Daniel Taylor marks the performances of the Manchester United players who carried the club to Moscow

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck dismissed the weekend’s Stamford Bridge scrap as just ‘handbags’

Sir Alex Ferguson hails Paul Scholes as one of United’s greats, writes Jeremy Wilson.

Paul Scholes spinned the ball into the far corner with all the accuracy that Tiger Woods might fade a three-iron

Supporters will have to dig deep if they want to watch their team play in the Champions League final in Moscow next month

Who cares that the past two games won’t go down in history? It’s what happens in Moscow next month that matters

Man United 1 Barcelona 0: Paul Scholes’s stunning goal takes United to the first all-English Champions League final

Sir Alex salutes the crowd’s contribution to United’s semi-final triumph.

Jeremy Wilson assesses the Manchester United performance in the Champions League semi-final second leg.

The key moments from the top of the Champions League clash at Old Trafford.

Manchester United (1) 1 Barcelona (0) 0Agg: 1-0Glory, glory Man United. On a magical night, before an Old Trafford crowd at its raucous best, the champions of England set up a all-English Champions League final through the brilliance of an Englishman, Paul Scholes. Henry Winter reports.

Chelsea chairman says incident was ‘handbags at 10 paces’.

If you’re going to win the Champions League, United showed the way to do it and deserved their victory. The secret in tight contests is to get your nose in front and stay there, writes Don Howe.

The diminutive United striker played like a giant in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona , writes Jim White

The issue was always going to revolve around Sir Alex Ferguson’s assertion that he had “boys” he could trust to carry him on the last steps of the road to Moscow. It was a big leap of faith, considering how United lost their way on the Fulham Road at the weekend, but then maybe the boy he had most in mind came fresh to the night that would shape Manchester United’s season.

In a month’s time Bruce Springsteen, that quintessential purveyor of blue-collar dreams, will be taking centre stage at Old Trafford singing his rock’n'roll narratives. For now, though, the Theatre of Dreams belongs to footballers and last night the working-class hero came not from New Jersey but from Salford. The ambition, though, was the same. Like Springsteen’s steelworkers and panel beaters Paul Scholes wanted to make a mark, to rise above the rest, to seek “Glory Days” and “The Promised Land”.

A winners’ dressing room is a jubilant place, one might think. Champagne everywhere, cheers and celebrations. Playing for a big club, however, brings with it an inherent stress. While Rio Ferdinand said he was unable to “put his feelings into words” after Manchester United’s victory last night, Michael Carrick gave a revealing insight into the demands felt by Manchester United players. Asked what the mood was in the dressing room he said it was, “more than anything, relief”. He added: “We put ourselves under so much pressure to win things, and we are still only in the final, and that is going to be tough.”