Sir Alex Ferguson was resigned to his fate after Manchester United were once again paired with a Premier League side in the FA Cup.
United will face Portsmouth at home in the quarter-finals while Bristol Rovers will play West Brom, Chelsea will take on Barnsley and Sheffield United or Middlesbrough will host Cardiff.
Ferguson's side have had to overcome Aston Villa, Tottenham and Arsenal to reach the last eight of the competition - and played six top-flight sides in last season's FA Cup, including Portsmouth.
The United manager told the club's website, www.manutd.com: "It's a home draw, so it doesn't matter who you get. But it's typical that we have another Premier League team.
"The good thing about the FA Cup, though, is that the opposition bring an increased number of supporters, which makes for a great atmosphere.
"We've had two great home ties against Spurs and Arsenal in the previous rounds, and hopefully we'll have another one against Portsmouth."
Barnsley manager Simon Davey believes facing Chelsea at home in is a "good reward" for beating Liverpool on Saturday.
"I'm very pleased, it's fantastic to draw Chelsea at home. We wanted a home tie and to get Chelsea is brilliant," Davey told Sky Sports News.
"In the last round against Liverpool, 6,000 Barnsley fans came to Anfield - now we can fill our stadium against another fantastic, world-class team. It's a good reward for beating Liverpool in the last round.
"We played Blackpool, then Southend, then we were looking for a big club. To draw Liverpool at Anfield was fantastic for us. We won that, and now we have the chance to play against more world class players at home.
"We've got a fantastic home record at the moment and hopefully we can continue it and get into the semi-finals."
Davey is well aware of the big-name match-winners Chelsea possess.
"I think there's a few - Frank Lampard, John Terry, Joe Cole, there are endless names from Chelsea that are going to give us nightmares," he said.
"We've got to concentrate on the league now, but it's a fantastic draw for us and we can't wait for it.
"The players have got to relish it. I'm sure they will be capable of putting on a good performance, like they did at Anfield."
The ties will be played on the weekend of March 8 and 9 and the winners will be going to Wembley - both semi-finals are to be played at the national stadium.
Tykes' goal hero Brian Howard was delighted by the draw. "It's another unbelievable tie," he told Sky Sports News.
"We went to Anfield and now this is another test, the holders coming here to defend their crown.
"With it being a home tie the whole town will be queuing for tickets, the whole place will be buzzing. With the magic of the cup, you never know what could happen."
Howard had a brief spell at Chelsea but did not get near the first team and admits it will be "nice" to play the Blues.
"I had three or four months there and then Roman Abramovich came in and signed pretty much the best players in the world. It will be nice to prove to them I'm good enough to play."
Full Draw
Sheffield United or Middlesbrough v Cardiff
Manchester United v Portsmouth
Bristol Rovers v West Brom
Barnsley v Chelsea
(reopens) Blades boss Kevin Blackwell admits his side face an "ideal quarter-final draw" - against Cardiff - if they can overcome Middlesbrough in their replay.
He told PA Sport: "To get a home draw and avoid the big guns in the quarter-final is ideal, that's for sure.
"But Gareth Southgate and I both know that we've got to get past each other first and it goes without saying that's not going to be easy.
"But certainly in the quarter-finals you want to be drawn at home and we can't ask for more than that."
The fifth-round replay with Middlesbrough will take place a week on Wednesday February 27.
Bristol Rovers are the only League One side left in the competition.
Ahead of the club's first quarter-final tie in 50 years, first-team coach Paul Trollope said on Sky Sports News: "We know the teams everyone looks for when the draw comes out but it's a home tie and were in decent form at home and it's one we're looking forward to."
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