Oops, Macheda did it again!
Manchester United's Federico Macheda (R) celebrates together with Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring the winner in a 2-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday.
Federico “Kiko” Macheda has done it again, living proof that lightning can, indeed, strike twice.
Just a week after the 17-year-old came off the bench to score an injury-time winner against Aston Villa, Macheda turn on his heroics again against Sunderland.
Another inspiring performance from the youngster saw Manchester United narrowly edging out Sunderland 2-1 after seasoned campaigner Paul Scholes had given United the lead in the first half.
This time though, Macheda’s impact was almost instant, coming off the bench with 15 minutes to go and deflecting Michael Carrick’s wayward shot past Sunderland’s Craig Gordon.
Sunderland must have been befuddled at the turn of events, but there was nothing strange or awkward about Macheda, who is fast turning out to be a real sensation.
At the start of the match, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo was left on the bench, only to play a part in the final quarter of the match, while Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez headed the strikeforce.
United keeper Edwin van der Sar was also rested, with Ben Foster taking his place in front of the goal.
United had their first real chance through Nemanja Vidic, whose header was cleared off the line after 17 minutes, and a subsequent bicycle kick was wide.
But barely two minutes later, Scholes rose high to head home Wayne Rooney’s cross to give United the lead.
Things were rather quiet for a while, with Sunderland’s Djibril Cisse’s effort seven minutes from half time tipped over by Foster, but two minutes later, his teammate Carlos Edwards nearly levelled for Sunderland when his shot came back off the upright.
Four minutes after the restart, Rooney struck just over the bar, but two minutes after that, parity was restored when Kenwyne Jones netted from close range.
Both Scholes and Tevez had chances to restore United’s lead, but Sunderland were doing a pretty decent job keeping United’s offence at bay.
Macheda’s introduction to replace Berbatov 16 minutes from time turned the tables on the Black Cats.
Almost immediately, Macheda put the ball into the back of the net after a powerful deflection off Carrick’s initial strike. He was, undoubtedly, thrilled.
The goal ensured United remained on top of the league, but more importantly, at least for Macheda, the Italian has scored possibly the two most important goals of his life.
The win ensured back-to-back victories for United after a mini slump which saw them losing previously to Liverpool and Fulham.
For now, United shift their focus to the Champions League. Porto awaits.
