Ronaldo sets up Arsenal showdown

LONDON (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo fired Manchester United into a Champions League semi-final clash with Premier League rivals Arsenal after the holders eliminated Porto on Wednesday.

Ronaldo's early long-range strike gave United a 1-0 win and a 3-2 aggregate success, the European champions becoming the first English club to beat Porto in Portugal.

Arsenal cruised into the last four as goals from Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie secured a 3-0 home victory over Spain's Villarreal. The London side went through 4-1 overall.

England will have three sides in the last four for the third successive season. Chelsea withstood a spirited Liverpool comeback on Tuesday, drawing 4-4 with their Premier League rivals at Stamford Bridge to progress 7-5 over the two legs.

Chelsea will next play Barcelona, the Spanish side easing through 5-1 on aggregate against Bayern Munich after a 1-1 draw in Germany.

(Writing by Justin Palmer; Editing by Ed Osmond, To comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)