Supersub Macheda strikes again to keep United top

Manchester United were again indebted to teenage striker Federico Macheda as the Italian scored a late goal to give the champions a 2-1 victory at Sunderland that sent them back to the top of the Premier League.

United were feeling the heat after Liverpool leapfrogged over Sir Alex Ferguson’s team with a 4-0 win against Blackburn in Saturday’s early match.

Not for the first time in recent week, United were short of inspiration at the Stadium on Light until Macheda went on as a substitute and scored the winner, just as he did against Aston Villa last week.

This was a scrappy goal in contrast to his marvellous effort against Villa, but was in keeping with United’s show against a Sunderland side who have now lost four games in succession.

Sunderland will be hugely encouraged by the way they performed, however, and they certainly showed spirit by hitting back with a goal from Kenwyne Jones after Paul Scholes put United ahead.

United achieved their victory without the services of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was rested with Wednesday’s Champions League match at Porto in mind.

Ryan Giggs, Anderson, Nani, Macheda and Patrice Evra were alongside the Portuguese star on the bench, while Edwin van der Saar was rested and Rio Ferdinand injured.

Yet, with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Jonny Evans playing after shaking off injuries, United still fielded a line-up designed to worry a Sunderland team without a win in their previous six games.

Their chances of ending that dismal run soon looked remote as United dominated the early exchanges and led from the 19th minute.

The goal was a rarity – a header by Scholes after Rooney angled in a cross that the midfielder deflected into the top corner.

It was hardly a surprise that United had taken the lead though because Rooney had gone close after just 19 seconds and and Nemanja Vidic had been denied the opener by Danny Collins’s goalline clearance.

Sunderland were given some encouragement by John O’Shea’s uncertainty in an unfamiliar left-back role and crosses from that area problems for United on several occasions before the break.

And their response to going behind showed that all the spirit has not totally drained from Ricky Sbragia’s team during their unhappy run of results.

United keeper Ben Foster was forced to tip over from Djibril Cisse’s long-range effort and, five minutes from the break, United just survived when Vidic diverted a Carlos Edwards cross against a post.

Rooney did his best to spark United into life at the start of the second-half and was inches away from a sensational goal with a 30-yard effort inside four minutes.

But Sunderland finally clawed their way back into the game in the 55th minute – and Foster must take the blame.

The keeper failed to clear a cross from Teemu Tainio and the ball dropped to Jones, who hooked in his first goal for two months.

Sunderland lived dangerously as Scholes and Berbatov both wasted chances before Ronaldo finally made his appearance with 22 minutes to go.

But United’s saviour proved to be Macheda, who followed his off the bench in the 75th minute and deflected in Michael Carrick’s shot just a minute later.

This time, there was no way back for a Sunderland side who had still done enough to show they may yet survive the threat of relegation.