Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring from an indirect free-kick after a James Milner backpass, before John Carew's header restored parity. Gabriel Agbonlahor headed Villa in front only for Ronaldo to level with a low shot and Macheda to snatch victory.
It was an incredible finish to a match that twisted and turned - and had looked to be going the way of Villa rather than the champions. But after digging deep, and finding inspiration from an untried teenager, United have leapfrogged Liverpool at the top of the table. And they also avoided a third successive league defeat, which would have been more galling given that Villa were thumped 5-0 by Liverpool in their last match. Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez said his side's last-gasp 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday had placed the pressure on United, and he looked to be right from the way they started against Villa.
They struggled with an unfamiliar back four that was forced upon them because of Rio Ferdinand's injury and Nemanja Vidic's suspension. Gary Neville, returning from injury, was brought in to partner John O'Shea in the heart of defence, but that proved to be a costly mistake.
Carew quickly served notice that he would enjoy the mismatch against Neville when his header was scrambled clear via Darren Fletcher and the post. And the visitors were in the mood to expose United's vulnerabilities. (Source: BBC Sport)
Sunday 5 April 2009
Back To Winning Ways ...
Federico Macheda scored a stunning late winner as Manchester United regained top spot in the Premier League. The 17-year-old substitute turned in the box and curled in a superb strike to make his debut the stuff of dreams.
