The 17-year-old came off the bench as a 60th minute replacement for Nani and made it a day to remember when he turned and curled a shot past Brad Friedal to make it 3-2.

The Italian found himself on the bench with fellow striker Wayne Rooney missing out through suspension and when United found themselves 2-1 down in the second half Sir Alex Ferguson decided it was time to blood the youngster.

The former Lazio youth teamer joined the club in September 2007 and transferred his goalscoring form for the reserves - the frontman scored a hat-trick against Newcastle last week - into the first team.

The goal could yet prove to be decisive in the destination of the Premier League title with the three points sending the Red Devils back to the top of the table.

"I think this is the day of my dreams. It was my dream to have my debut and to score a goal like that. I very much enjoyed it," he told Sky Sports 1.

Macheda also revealed that Ferguson had just told him to go out and play his normal game just before he took to the field.

"(He said) just play simple as you know. Just go out and play," he added.

The youngster managed to share the moment with his family as he ran over to the corner flag to celebrate.

"I run to my dad and my family and I went to them and they were celebrating too," he explained.