Revisiting Federico Macheda’s title-deciding Man Utd debut in 2009

In March 2009, it seemed like the Premier League title race was essentially over, with Manchester United cruising to a third straight title.

Alex Ferguson’s men were seven points clear with a game in hand. Liverpool and Chelsea were locked together in second, though Rafa Benitez’s team had more momentum than the Blues, but they still had to come to Old Trafford, where no visiting team had taken a point since Newcastle United on the opening day of the season.

And yet, just weeks later, United were reliant on the unlikeliest of sources – an untried 17-year-old – to salvage a season that was teetering towards collapse.

Liverpool were in fine form, but the manner of their win at Old Trafford still came as a shock, especially when Cristiano Ronaldo gave the home side a 1-0 advantage.

Four unanswered goals, including one from Andrea Dossena – Andrea Dossena! – is enough to jolt any team into action or inaction, and in United’s case, it was the latter.

They lost the following game at Fulham, with the Cottagers taking advantage of the absence of Nemanja Vidic – sent off the previous week for a foul on Fernando Torres – to beat United in west London for the first time in more than four decades.

Sometimes it’s too easy to accuse a title challenger of bottling it when they lose to an unfancied team, but this occasion – United ended with nine men at Craven Cottage after Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were both dismissed – certainly qualifies.

At the very least it wasn’t the sort of thing we’d come to associate with a team that held its own down the home straight in each of the previous two seasons.

Those red cards at Fulham meant United went into their next game without Scholes and Rooney, while Vidic was also still unavailable.

It