Manchester United 4 // Schalke 1 (Manchester United win 6-1 on aggregate)
MANCHESTER //After 25 minutes, the Manchester United supporters broke into a chant that has become a regular in their repertoire over the years. "Que sera, sera," they began. "We're going to Wembley," they concluded.
It is a familiar destination, but not for 43 years has a trip to England's national stadium carried such significance. United's first European Cup was won in London in 1968. Their fourth will be, too, should they overcome Barcelona on May 28.
A huge obstacle awaits after a comparatively minor one was overcome, both impressively and easily. Schalke languish in the lower half of the Bundesliga and, while Sir Alex Ferguson warned against complacency in his programme notes, the United manager opened himself up to accusations of underestimating his opponents by making eight changes. Of the team beaten by Arsenal, only Edwin van der Sar, Nani and Anderson were retained.
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Also
• Paul Lambert is a manager moulded from fires of Martin O'Neill
• The reasons why it works at Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish
• Ronaldo: Next year they should just give cup to Barcelona
• Fortune has smiled on Manuel Neuer
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Sunday's Premier League title decider against Chelsea meant the Champions League was downgraded to second in the priority list.
Squad rotation is a policy the United manager often employs in the group stages, but rarely at such at an advanced stage and never with such crushing consequences should it backfire. It didn't, however; Ferguson's confidence was richly justified as first-half goals from Antonio Valencia and Darron Gibson sealed their final berth, before Anderson's brace garnished the scoreline.
Nonetheless, it created an odd atmosphere for a match of this magnitude. Compared with the intensity and rancour of el clasico, the watching Pep Guardiola witnessed something altogether more sedate.
While United's central midfield trio were all booked in the first half, this was a game that never threatened to boil over: the near-certainty of United's progress removed the tension and rendered much of the final hour a footnote. Schalke may have eliminated the defending champions, Inter Milan, in the quarter-finals, but a second shock never seemed feasible.
If Ralf Rangnick's side have surprised, the same could be said of United's outstanding performer on the night. Had Ferguson picked his first-choice team, Gibson probably would not have even merited a place on the bench. Instead, this was an improbable triumph for United's most-maligned player. When he joined Twitter a couple of weeks ago, he quit the social networking site after a couple of hours of abuse from the club's fans. If the consensus is that the Irishman is not good enough, a surreal eight minutes showed that the midfielder is not without his merits.
By creating one goal and scoring another, Gibson achieved something many more garlanded and gifted players can only dream of: he clinched a place in the Champions League final. After an uneventful start, Gibson guided a pass into the path of the advancing Valencia and the Ecuadorian finished with precision, angling his shot into the far corner.
Then the favour was returned: after Valencia and Anderson combined, Gibson drilled in a low shot. Manuel Neuer, whose performance in Gelsenkirchen last week was a one-man resistance act, rather ruined the good impression created then by letting Gibson's effort slip through his hands.
Neuer's colleagues at least mustered a response, Jose Manuel Jurado rifling in just the fourth goal United have conceded in this season's Champions League.
Yet their hosts' response, without scoring, was sufficiently emphatic to serve as a reminder of their ability to open up Schalke: a jinking Valencia defeated Neuer, though Benedikt Howedes cleared his shot off the line.
Neuer redeemed himself to some degree with an acrobatic save from Anderson. The Brazilian nevertheless struck twice in five minutes to double his tally for United after first Nani and then Dimitar Berbatov set him up.
By then there was a carnival feel around Old Trafford, Ferguson reintroducing Darren Fletcher after a long lay-off and gave Michael Owen a comparatively rare outing. Heroes past and present were saluted in song, a place in Europe's final a reality long before Pedro Proenca blew his final whistle.
The danger overachievers face is that they become exposed and embarrassed at a higher level.
That has been Schalke's fate and as a much-weakened team advanced with conspicuous ease while Ferguson saved his premier players for Chelsea, the fans' new favourite chant - "We're Man United and we do what we want" - had rarely seemed more apt.
Match report card
Manchester United
• Keeper Edwin van der Sar, the Dutchman, showed fine distribution and was the steadying influence United needed at the back. Could do nothing to stop Jose ManuelJurado's goal. B
• Defence A better opposition would have troubled them more. Chris Smalling was strong in the air, but at fault for Schalke's goal. Jonny Evans never looked comfortable on the ball. C
• Midfield Antonio Valencia was tireless, Paul Scholes showed some vintage passing, Darron Gibson hit back at his critics and Anderson was rewarded with a surprise double. B
• Strikers Dimitar Berbatov showed flashes of class, but the Bulgarian striker could have used some more support from his midfield. B-
• Manager Took a calculated risk by resting his biggest names, but it paid off for Sir Alex Ferguson. Showed obvious relief once the first goal went in. B
Overall Grade: B
Schalke
• Keeper Manuel Neuer impressed the world in the first leg. Last night he made a poor mistake for United's second goal but then made a brilliant finger-tip save from Anderson. C
• Defence Needed to keep a clean sheet to stand a chance, but Atsuto Uchida, the right-back, gave the ball away for United's first goal and Schalke left far too many gaps. C
• Midfield Jurado, who scored a cracker, and Alexander Baumjohann, surprisingly replaced at half time, were livewires. Their triangles of passing created space. B
• Strikers Jefferson Farfan was stunted. Raul chased tirelessly, but enjoyed more possession from deep in the second half as Edu caused a few problems. C+
• Manager Ralf Rangnick picked a flexible 5-3-2/3-5-2. It was a good game plan in principle, but his defence did not keep it tight long enough for Schalke to gain a foothold. B-
Overall Grade: C+