Macheda is Man U hero again

London - Federico Macheda came off the bench to save Manchester United for the second week running on Saturday when the 17-year-old Italian got the decider in a 2-1 win at Sunderland with his first touch seconds after coming on.

Macheda, whose brilliant debut goal in stoppage time secured a 3-2 win over Aston Villa, made another enormous contribution to the Premier League title race when he diverted a 76th-minute Michael Carrick shot into the net after Kenwyne Jones had cancelled out Paul Scholes's opener.

Liverpool had earlier piled on the pressure with a 4-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers, helped by two goals by Fernando Torres and Chelsea also led 4-0 at home to Bolton Wanderers after an hour but ended up hanging on for a 4-3 win.

United, who have a game in hand on the chasing pack, remain top on 71 points with Liverpool second on 70. Chelsea are third on 67 with Arsenal fourth on 61 after they came from behind to win 4-1 at Wigan Athletic.