The striker followed up his stunning injury-time winner against Aston Villa last weekend by again netting the telling goal in the 2-1 victory over Sunderland on Saturday.

The result saw United reclaim top-spot from Liverpool, who enjoyed just over two hours at the summit following their 4-0 thrashing of Blackburn.

And Ferguson admits there is "something special" about Macheda, saying: "He has got something special about him. One of the players said he actually tried it.

"He side-footed it as it came to him. It's that quick-thinking that goalscorers have got. He has just got that instinct.

"He knows the role we want him to play. We want him to penetrate in behind them.

"He has got good movement, he has got quickness in his movement and it showed that when he came on.

"He wasn't fazed by anything. Right away, he got involved in the game and he had a good 20 minutes for us."