Forget the doubters. Ignore the critics who were loading their arrows and taking aim in the direction of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Manchester United will take their place in the first all-English Champions League final in Moscow next month.

And how appropriate that is in the season the club commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

Once again United are European trail-blazers after a 1-0 victory against Barcelona which was as tense as it was compelling.

True, the fluent football, the silky technique, the pretty patterns came from the talented Spaniards. At times United were hanging on. But, boy, they did hang on - with sweat and courage and determination and an energy which Barcelona never matched.

If medals were handed out for industry and desire then they would go to so many in red shirts.

To such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and the ubiquitous Carlos Tevez, whose football this season has demonstrated what the game should be all about.

To men such as Patrice Evra and in particular Wes Brown, a utility defender who was magnificent with countless vital interceptions and blocks as the magical Lionel Messi strutted his stuff.

To United fans, too, who turn up so loyally and when the team needed them most roared them across the finishing line once more.

Yet mostly to Paul Scholes, the man who missed the final nine years ago through suspension and who already has been told by Ferguson that he will be the first name on his teamsheet in Moscow.

They have been singing 'Paul Scholes... he scores goals' at Old Trafford for the best part of 15 years.

Well, at 33 the legs do not often surge as once they did and he does not score as many these days, just once all season. Until, that is, the 14th minute against Barcelona.

And what a goal. A goal which signalled the old firepower lives on. Gianluca Zambrotta's blindly-hit clearance fell at his feet. Scholes stepped forward, looked up and let fly from 25 yards and the ball fairly bulleted into the net.

A special goal from an enduring talent. A goal, in truth, which settled United after a first period in which Barcelona had dominated possession, just as they had done in the goalless first leg.

But if that was the defining moment of an absorbing contest then the victory was also a rousing endorsement of Britain's most driven manager.

Reward for Ferguson's 22 years at Old Trafford, a reign in which his energy has made the club the dominant force in the Premier League.

Ask Ferguson about United's record in Europe, however, and he is the first to concede it has not been nearly good enough. Three semi-finals had been lost in that time with the one ultimate triumph coming against Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999.

But now they go to Moscow and no-one could deny that they deserve their place in that all-English final.

Not just because United had to go into this battle without the injured Wayne Rooney and the concussed Nemanja Vidic.

More so because the doubters once again had begun to question Ferguson. Really they should know better.

They had run out of gas, according to some. Hit the wall when the injuries began to mount and the fixtures became congested.

They used as evidence the uncharacteristically cautious performance at the Nou Camp in the first leg and Ferguson's team selection at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when he rested key players, plus all the frustration and angst which followed.

In the end, however, Ferguson was right. Right to rotate. Right to temper his side's swashbuckling instincts with more studied, patient football.

And as he shook the sea of hands offering congratulation and hugged his coaches and players, perhaps too he had a thought for the legend who began it all, Sir Matt Busby.

Ferguson boasts a European record better than Busby. One final, one win, five semi-finals, two wins.

Now a Premier League and Champions League double beckons.

Only a fool would back against Ferguson making history again.