Sir Alex Ferguson last night said Manchester United have "an outstanding chance" of reaching the Champions League final after Wayne Rooney inspired a sensational 3-2 win against semi-final opponents AC Milan at Old Trafford. Trailing and in trouble after his injury-decimated side had been ripped apart twice by Milan's brilliant Brazilian Kaka, Rooney came to the rescue. First the England striker drove home an equaliser after Paul Scholes had supplied an audacious chipped pass, then, in injury-time, Rooney strode on to Ryan Giggs' through ball and beat Milan keeper Dida with a stunning first-time finish to seal a memorable victory. It means United, who opened the scoring when Dida was unable to keep out Cristiano Ronaldo's header, must avoid defeat in the San Siro next Wednesday to confirm an all-English final in Athens on May 23. And, while Sir Alex accepts it will not be easy, he believes his side are capable of delivering. "We have an outstanding chance now," said the Scot. "With the speed of our game, I believe we will score in Italy. Whether it will be enough I don't know. It will not be easy - but it will not be easy for them either." Largely overlooked this season as team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo has grabbed all the headlines, Rooney muscled his way back on to centre-stage in magnificent fashion. Scholes may earn most of the plaudits with his assist for Rooney's first but no-one could deny the sheer brilliance of the second. "It was an incredible hit," enthused Ferguson. He didn't take a touch on it, just hit it first time. It was a brilliant goal. "On an occasion like tonight, we needed our big players to hit the heights." Aside from Rooney's monumental contribution, Ronaldo - who was credited with United's fourth-minute opener even though Dida touched it in after the winger's fierce header had looped up off his head - and Darren Fletcher were also superb. "I don't think anyone expected us to fold when we fell behind but Kaka did have two chances to get a third for them, which he didn't take, and that gave us a lifeline," added Ferguson. "But you need a bit of luck on nights like this and I am delighted with the way we came back. "The second goal gave us the incentive to push forward again and once we started to do that, there was only going to be one winner." Ferguson was critical of his side's defending for both Milan goals. Gabriel Heinze was caught napping by Kaka's surging run for the equaliser but the second involved a catastrophic penalty box collision between the Argentina star and Patrice Evra that allowed the Milan star a free run on goal. It was part of a bad night for Evra, whose booking rules him out of the second leg, leaving Ferguson facing another patch-up job unless Rio Ferdinand can somehow manage to overcome the groin injury he aggravated against Middlesbrough at the weekend. The manager added: "If Rio doesn't make it, I do have the option of playing Darren Fletcher at right-back, although given the way he played tonight, I would prefer not to do that." Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti accepted United were marginal favourites to get through. But he is still confident about his side's chances of completing a European Cup semi-final hat-trick over the Red Devils after previous wins in 1958 and 1969. "Manchester United probably do have a slight advantage," he said. "We are disappointed about their winning goal because I felt we had the match pretty much in hand. It seemed we were going to get a good result but that goal has complicated matters." Ancelotti confirmed Gennaro Gattuso, whom Ferguson claimed got involved in a row with a steward after the final whistle, would be fit for next week despite suffering a bang on the foot. Paolo Maldini, who was substituted with a knee problem, is more of a doubt. "It is difficult to say whether the result would have been the same if those two had stayed on the pitch but quite clearly, you are going to miss players of that experience," he said. Meanwhile police praised supporters after last night's crunch match passed off peacefully. There was no repeat of the ugly scenes two weeks ago when Manchester fans clashed with Italian supporters of Roma and officers made three arrests for minor public order offences at Old Trafford for the clash against the Italian giants. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said both sets of fans were worthy of praise for their good behaviour. Around 75,000 fans packed Old Trafford for last night's match, including 2,800 away fans. Police made three arrests for ticket touting, but one of those was subsequently released. Manchester utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs. Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Smith, Solskjaer, Dong, Richardson, Eagles, Lee. Booked: Evra, Giggs. Goals: Ronaldo 6, Rooney 59, 90. AC MILAN: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Maldini (Bonera 46), Jankulovski, Gattuso (Brocchi 52), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Gilardino (Gourcuff 84). Subs Not Used: Kalac, Cafu, Inzaghi, Favalli. Booked: Kaka, Bonera. Goals: Kaka 22, 37. Attendance: 73,820. Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece). | 
