Nothing doing for Barcelona-Manchester United

Did Manchester United blow its chance of reaching the May 21 final in Moscow when its most breathtaking player, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, inexplicably missed a penalty kick Wednesday?

Or did Barcelona see its chance of reaching the final fly out the window when it had 65% of the possession, moved the ball around in delightful fashion, but came away with only a 0-0 tie in front of more than 98,000 at its Nou Camp home?

The answer will come Tuesday, when Barcelona will visit Old Trafford, where Manchester United is expected to shed the exceptionally defensive posture it maintained in the first leg of the semifinal series and actually go out to win the game.

Things might have been different for Coach Alex Ferguson's team had Ronaldo not sent his third-minute spot kick sailing wide of the right post. Had Manchester United scored that goal, Barcelona would have been forced to put more urgency into its attack rather than simply playing attractive but ultimately frustrating football.

Ronaldo, who has scored 38 goals this season, was not overly concerned about his miss, which came after Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito deliberately handled the ball.

"Today I didn't score, but no problem -- I will score in Manchester," Ronaldo told Britain's Sky Sports. "Nil-nil away is a good result."

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The other Champions League semifinal will be played April 30, when Chelsea hosts Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Of much interest is whether Liverpool Coach Rafael Benitez will start, or even play, defender John Arne Riise, whose last-second own goal in the first leg at Anfield on Tuesday gifted Chelsea with a 1-1 tie and the enormous advantage of an away goal.

The Norwegian's faux pas might have been the most disastrous own goal of the season, given the stage and importance of the competition, but it did not completely overshadow the efforts of a fellow Scandinavian. Luckless Danish defender Thomas Baelum this season has scored three own goals against his club, Willem II, setting an all-time record for a Dutch first division player.

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It might have fallen on hard times of late, but Borussia Moenchengladbach nonetheless has some cache, and will bring it to the U.S. this summer.