These are two clubs whose modern histories are entangled but Manchester United have made significant progress in separating themselves from Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final. Considering that Sir Alex Ferguson's side was supposed to face an ordeal at Stamford Bridge, the victory was achieved with few histrionics. The fact that Wayne Rooney scored the goal was almost taken for granted, highlighting the return to form that has ended debate about his effectiveness, if not his occasional excitability before a microphone.

This would not have been an authentic engagement between these clubs, all the same, if there were not some angst. Chelsea ought to have had the opportunity to level eventually but the Spanish referee, Alberto Mallenco, saw no penalty in stoppage time although Patrice Evra took Ramires rather than the ball. Moments later the official fished for his yellow card when Fernando Torres appeared to dive in his hope of a spot-kick.

The Spain centre-forward is still to score for the club following the £50m transfer from Liverpool but it is not to be assumed that he must resort to underhand means to end the wait. With a quarter of an hour remaining, he rose to meet a cross by José Bosingwa with a fine header but Edwin van der Sar pawed it away and so showed his own quality.

In principle a quarter-final in this tournament ought to be a clash of excellence but, when teams are so familiar with one another, the risk of deadlock is high. Although the tone of the action suggested parity, Rooney divided the sides. He now has seven goals from his past eight outings with the club. That impact is almost taken for granted but he had scored only twice for United from the opening of the season until the end of 2010.

That was a supposed crisis that now has to be rebranded as a curio. Apart from the intrinsic trouble of repeating last year's 2-1 win at Old Trafford, Chelsea will be taking on opponents who have started to sense their own strength. Ferguson would have been appalled at times by the attrition rate but he did not embark on prolonged lamentation that would have undermined the confidence of those who would feel they were being selected only out of necessity.

At present some United figures are getting back into condition and there was no indication against Chelsea that Rio Ferdinand, sidelined by a calf injury since 1 February, was any sort of convalescent. Much as the defender's reassuring presence was appreciated, Ferguson had selected a team with the means to attack. That approach had ended in defeat here in the Premier League last month but United had been unlucky after seeming in control for much of the evening. Once again the manager picked a pair of forwards in Javier Hernández and Rooney.

Now, too, the visitors took the lead and, on this occasion, retained it thanks to better work in defence. After 24 minutes Michael Carrick swept a splendid pass to Ryan Giggs on the left, with the veteran controlling the ball and leaving Bosingwa for dead with one perfect touch before Rooney slotted the finish home off the inside of the post.

It had been a masterful piece of work by United and nothing less than such a moment could have overcome the intense concentration of each team. Suddenly the scorn over the new contract provided for Carrick was quelled, for the time being at any rate.

The mood was taut. Strained feelings were unavoidable in teams who have shared and made history in modern times. There is certainly a fixation with their encounter in the 2008 Champions League final. All the same, it is difficult to tell whether it is the players or simply those who keep asking about the penalty shoot-out who are obsessed with that night in Moscow. Talk of revenge is particularly odd since United did no more than win a match. Chelsea may have been desolate but they were not wronged.

During the build-up to this encounter, Ferguson would have been sincere in the admiration he expressed for the Stamford Bridge manager, Carlo Ancelotti, while aghast at the idea of such a figure being sacked, but the comments also implied that United were pitted against a less stable club.

Even so, the Chelsea players themselves could easily have been on solid ground in the 45th minute, had a Didier Drogba cross from the left not come off a post. When Lampard attempted to prod the ball home Evra was able to clear. Any benefit Chelsea took from the incident lay in the proof that it was feasible to break the visitors.

The notion was bolstered soon after the interval when Ramires was free to connect with a Drogba cross but the header flew off target. The Ivorian who supplied the set-up work was also to be involved in a collision that saw Rafael da Silva carried off on a stretcher with United pulling Antonio Valencia back to the right of the defence and utilising the substitute Nani on the wing.

Alterations may have been enforced but nothing could disrupt United on their way to victory.