Carlos Tevez bagged four goals as Manchester United beat Blackburn to reach the Carling Cup semi-finals.
There was an element of doubt over Tevez's opener as he challenged with Aaron Mokoena for Ryan Giggs' far post corner.
But there was no debate over the other three, with Nani also on the
scoresheet against a poor Blackburn side whose manager Paul Ince was
already under pressure before this defeat.
Nani gifted possession to Keith Treacy in a manner which hardly suggested the Portugal winger was fully focused.
Rafael quickly clattered into Treacy, emphasising his willingness to get stuck in.
Roque Santa Cruz is expected to leave Ewood Park during the transfer
window but it was his header that Matt Derbyshire flicked into the path
of Stephen Warnock.
The former Liverpool man touched the ball goalwards in deft fashion
and would have opened the scoring had Ben Foster not pushed the effort
over at point-blank range.
Foster was scrambling back to palm the corner behind as well when Emerton swung it deep into the six-yard box.
Carlos Tevez was not far away from finding Nani with a chipped pass from halfway.
Tevez needs to take every chance he gets to impress Sir Alex Ferguson and the way he chased down Olsson caught the eye.
Nani's ballooned shot after he had collected Anderson's reverse pass was equally noteworthy, but in a completely different way.
A lengthy period of United possession ended in disappointing fashion as John O'Shea's far-post cross sailed out for a corner.
The hosts almost went in front when Darron Gibson got his head to Giggs' outswinging corner.
Gibson's effort dropped over Paul Robinson but thankfully for Blackburn Olsson was stationed on the line to head it away.
O'Shea
laid a pass off to Tevez who kept a posse of Blackburn defenders at bay
before letting fly with a 20-yard effort that was not far away with
Robinson beaten.
A Rodrigo Possebon strike from slightly further out did not trouble
the England international before a Derbyshire pot-shot at the other end
briefly had Foster wrong-footed, although he eventually made a
comfortable save.
Foster was then forced to charge out and make Stephen Warnock rush
his shot after he had got beyond the United defence. Having had Foster
in difficulty with a corner, Emerton did it again with a cross from a
slightly better angle but again, United survived.
But Rovers did not nine minutes from the break as Giggs floated another dangerous free-kick into the visitors' box.
Evans was appealing for a penalty as he went down before he could challenge. But behind him, Tevez had Aaron Mokoena in trouble.
It might have been messy, with initial viewings inconclusive about
who got the final touch. But the ball ended up in the net, with Tevez
suitably delighted.
United quickly added another, with the Argentina striker involved
again, providing a cushioned return pass to Nani, who had continued his
surge from the touchline and duly drilled a low shot under Robinson's
body.
Sensing impending doom, the few visiting fans to make the journey
chanted 'we want our Rovers back', while Sir Alex Ferguson could cross
two more midweeks out as potential dates for rearranged fixtures.
HT: Man Utd 2 Blackburn 0
Ince made a change at the
break, introducing Benni McCarthy for Emerton, a move which paid
handsome dividends three minutes after the restart.
Blackburn first had to survive a major scare as Tevez broke forward,
found Giggs with a square pass and, after the Welshman's initial shot
had been blocked, Nani forced a fine save out of Robinson with the
follow-up.
It was Robinson who launched the move that ended with Blackburn scoring as he drilled a goal-kick deep into the United half.
Santa Cruz flicked it on and McCarthy, with his first meaningful
touch, belted it home after he had outmanoeuvred makeshift centre-half
Gary Neville on the edge of United's box.
Blackburn needed to build, instead they conceded almost immediately
as Tevez raced onto Giggs' pass and was bundled over by Olsson.
The South American does not have a reputation for passing up such opportunities and he sent Robinson the wrong way.
Four minutes later, Tevez had assured himself of the matchball, or
at least Anderson had because he was the one who left the striker to
tap into an empty net as he played a pass rather than attempt to beat
Robinson himself.
It was the end of an incisive attack Giggs had begun with a majestic
pass to Anderson and, to all intents and purposes, it was the end for
Blackburn.
Ryan Nelsen was booked for a nasty challenge on Tevez before Scholes
was introduced for Possebon, with Evra replacing O'Shea at the same
time.
Scholes fizzed a shot wide as United looked for another,
then Robbie Fowler was greeted with his usual negative reception when
he replaced Santa Cruz with 15 minutes left.
On this evidence, the Paraguayan cannot get away from Ewood Park quick enough.
Derbyshire pulled one back then, in stoppage time, McCarthy grabbed
another in a worrying echo of United's stumble from a similar position
against Hull last month.
But Tevez was not going to be denied this time and lashed home at the death to ensure victory.
