After sulking on Saturday because of my mother vehemently claiming there is no live football on television (she just wanted to watch the reality singing contest that until last season has never interfered with the football season) I gleefully came down to watch United play Villa after learning that she had gone upstairs to sleep.

Deep down inside I was thinking, could this be another one of those days when a youngster decides the game? Looking at United’s bench for the game I saw the not unfamiliar (any stern United follower would have heard him by now actually) but yet unproven Federico Macheda, who had just scored a hat-trick in the reserves. I didn’t really see anything in it and would probably have fancied Welbeck rather.

2-1 down, Sir Alex sent on the young Italian instead, which struck me as odd. For one thing, Welbeck had the more experience. That move doesn’t sound like a coach needing to end the prospect of three successive defeats in a title run-in. But as we all know, nobody questions Sir Alex’s decisions, but I was left a bit uneasy with it – the youngster’s touch showed enormous inexperience, he lost the ball once or twice. But when you get on for your first-team debut, practically millions of eyes are on you, wanting to see what you can do, so it’s not really his fault I guess.

It went to 2-2, by that time Villa were nervous like they usually have been all season, but you can say the same for United’s attacking endeavours in the last few games. Only that now, there is no Berbatov or Rooney up front and instead two youngsters who haven’t even reached 19 yet.

The ball broke to Welbeck but he was unable to beat Friedel despite taking the right option to drive the ball across and low to the far post. It seemed like Villa would finally get something from the game, any point would be of great value for them right now.

Into injury time, another failed attempt to hold the ball up by Macheda but this time the ball fell luckily into Giggs, who fed a nice through pass to the Italian showing nice movement like all fine strikers do. That’s when it all went right for him – the brilliant pullback, not too near his feet for a dribble but not too far from them, and the curling shot which curved out of Friedel’s reach and into the United goal.

Notice in the replays that both Luke Young and Friedel went to their right and got fooled by Macheda’s lovely turn. Big guy that he is, it wasn’t probable that Macheda would try and run past Young but the amazing thing was how fast his feet moved from looking to be taking it on his left to digging it from under his body, shifting the ball to his right.

So what does that make of him? Another one of Fergie’s finds yes, but like every player that comes from United’s youth academy, you can be sure he’ll be steadily developed, keeping his feet on the ground yet doing unbelievable things. And we’d want to keep this young Italian striker for maybe a little bit longer, having already let go of one.