UPDATE 2-Soccer-Majestic Manchester United thrash AS Roma 7-1

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By Mitch Phillips

MANCHESTER, England April 10 (Reuters) - Manchester United produced one of the finest performances in 50 years of European competition to destroy AS Roma 7-1 on Tuesday and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2002.

United, trailing 2-1 from the first meeting in Rome, had never previously overturned a first leg deficit in five attempts in the competition but did so in astonishing style to win the tie 8-3 on aggregate.

It was the biggest victory in a quarter-final match in either the European Cup or Champions League since Real Madrid beat Sevilla 8-0 in 1957-58, clocking up a 10-2 aggregate victory.

It was also the biggest winning margin in a Champions League knockout round game, Roma's heaviest defeat in Europe and United's biggest win in Europe since a 7-1 victory over Waterford of Ireland in the first round of the European Cup in 1968-69 when they were the defending champions.

Three goals in a scintillating eight-minute burst early in the first half by Michael Carrick, Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney had United in command and Roma, second in Serie A, shell-shocked.

Cristiano Ronaldo then scored either side of the break, Carrick netted a spectacular second and, after Daniele De Rossi pulled one back, Patrice Evra capped a night to remember with the seventh.

The remarkable result, coming three days after defeat at Portsmouth in the league, took United into a last-four meeting with either Bayern Munich or AC Milan and sustained their hopes of repeating their 1999 European and domestic treble -- clinched when they beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Barcelona.