Ronaldo rocket fires United past Porto

Cristiano Ronaldo's early long-range goal secures Manchester United a 1-0 win over Porto in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo shows his delight after his team's victory over Porto.

PORTO // Cristiano Ronaldo's early long-range goal secured Manchester United a 1-0 win over Porto in the Champions League quarter-final second leg. Ronaldo scored with a spectacular swerving right-foot shot from 40 yards in just the sixth minute to send the holders through 3-2 on aggregate. Porto took time to recover but gradually started pressing and came close to equalising on 20 minutes when Bruno Alves's free-kick flew inches wide of the post. The Portuguese team continued to create chances in the second half, while United seemed content to control the tie and rarely threatened to grab a second. Manchester United will now play Premier League rivals Arsenal in the semi-finals. The United manager Sir Alex Ferguson felt the understanding of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic was the key to his side's win. Ferguson said: "They did well. We showed good concentration at the back and defended very well. "If we get back to that foundation of not conceding goals, we can do well. We had stability at the back with the recognition of Ferdinand and Vidic and that was a great start. "I couldn't see the dangers. I thought we controlled that part very well. Nothing really bothered us."

* With agencies