More to come from Kiko ...

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Federico Macheda has "something special", while the young Italian striker's team-mates have accepted he is now a genuine option up front.

Rome-born Macheda clearly has an eye for the spectacular. Having come off the bench to score a stunning winner on his debut against Aston Villa, he followed it up with an instinctive touch to provide a 2-1 victory at Sunderland.

"He has got something special about him, the boy," admitted Sir Alex. "He's just got that instinct that goalscorers have. He has good movement and he's quick.

"He isn't fazed by anything, and he got involved as soon as he came on, he had a really good 20 minutes for us."

'Kiko' may still be in his teens, but Macheda offers a real threat as back-up to United's regular forwards.

"It's great to be able to bring on a young lad like that," says Scholes. "He scored with his first or second touch, he looks like a great goalscorer and there's hopefully more to come from him."

Reds goalkeeper Ben Foster likes the confidence Macheda has shown. "It's a fantastic story," he said. "It was an unbelievable goal last week and he’s done it again.

"He’s saying it was a deft touch into the corner but I don’t think many of the lads are believing him!

"But I'm really pleased for him. He’s thoroughly deserving of his chance because he's been doing it in the Reserves all season."

From relative unknown to overnight hero, it's a lot of attention to be heaped on his young shoulders. But he is an assured and confident young man and has the right people with the right intentions surrounding him.

"I think the players will help there," adds Sir Alex. "I had a chat with his family this week, so he'll be ok I'm sure."

"He's quite a level-headed lad, actually," adds Foster. "I don’t think any of the lads will let him get carried away – Gary Neville puts his foot down with anything like that."

Staying grounded

"He's quite a level-headed lad. I don’t think any of the lads will let him get carried away – Gary Neville puts his foot down with anything like that."

- Ben Foster