RIO SALUTES ROONEY

 Rio Ferdinand heaped praise on Wayne Rooney after the striker's well-taken goal earned a superb 1-0 victory at Chelsea.

The Reds take a lead into the second leg at Old Trafford and Ferdinand, who was outstanding in defence on his return to the side, is confident a place in the semi-finals is within touching distance.

"Wayne's a top quality player," Rio enthused "He showed touches of brilliance, great touches and awareness. It was a great finish and he was buzzing around all over the pitch today so it was good to see.

"I think he's been showing [his best form] in the last few weeks, we've seen glimpses of his ability to do wonderful stuff at any time of a game and today he was consistent throughout the game. When he's got that for us, he's some player to play against."

Ferdinand refused to be concerned about Chelsea's late call for a penalty when Ramires was felled by Patrice Evra's tackle inside the box.

"Maybe it was a penalty, maybe it wasn't," he asserted.

"Swings and roundabouts. I think it all levels itself out over the course of a season.

"I've not had a chance to look at if but, if the guys think it's a penalty, maybe it should have been. But they've rode their luck here over the years a few times so it's about time we had a bit of luck here."

Sir Alex Ferguson's tactical plan worked perfectly but there's still plenty of work to be done at Old Trafford next Tuesday.

"Just when we get the ball to keep it," replied Rio when asked about the game-plan. "We retained the ball well in the first half, not so much in the second half but we defended well. You have to defend well at Stamford Bridge and every single one of the players defended with great intensity today.

"It's still in the balance. I think it's a good result for us but it's nowhere near over for us. We've got to go to Old Trafford, defend well, stay on our feet and make sure we close it out.

"Don't concede a goal and go through," he told ITV Sport.