Federico Macheda has little in common with Steve Bruce — other than a nose that is a plastic surgeon’s dream — but in a couple of months he may share with the former Manchester United captain the distinction of having scored the goal that effectively won the championship for the club. Bruce’s late double against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993 is widely credited as having sealed United’s first title in 25 years and the first of the Premier League era, while Macheda’s strike yesterday could be remembered as the goal that brings them level with Liverpool on 18 titles, at their great rivals’ expense.

“This is the day of my dreams,” the 17-year-old said. “No one had heard of me before this, but that will have changed now. My life has changed.”

Those who follow the club’s youth and reserve teams have been aware of Machedo’s promise for some time.

The Italian striker scored on his first appearance for the Under-18 side against Barnsley 18 months ago and has barely stopped since, scoring a hat-trick for the reserve team last week in a 3-3 draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park. It may be a while before he returns to that level because he clearly likes the big stage.

Macheda was plucked from Lazio’s youth team the day after his 16th birthday in August 2007, with the Italian club muttering about an alleged illegal approach without making a formal complaint. Given his youth, United paid for his family to relocate to Cheshire, which leant even more emotion to his kiss-blowing celebrations to his father yesterday, for which he was booked by Mike Riley, the referee. “I went over to my Dad and my family,” Macheda said. “They have helped me a lot as well.”

Macheda’s composure was remarkable for one so young, but his stunning finish also served as a reminder of Sir Alex Ferguson’s uncanny ability to judge players. The teenager was due to go away for international duty with Italy Under-17 on Saturday but was pulled out at the last minute by Ferguson, who gambled further yesterday by introducing him with half an hour remaining and the match slipping away.

Macheda made an immediate impact to give a hitherto blunt United attack purpose. He could have had a penalty when challenged by Curtis Davies, played a beautiful ball across the face of goal after beating Carlos Cuéllar at the byline and produced a stunning finish to spare the blushes of his more experienced team-mates who were second best for long spells, not least Gary Neville.

“In the first half we were a little bit dodgy defensively and I paid the price for not having played for a couple of months,” Neville said. “Many people don’t know \, but having seen him every day in training, he’s a fantastic finisher. It was a great strike and we’re grateful to him.”

As Bruce could tell him, that gratitude can last a lifetime.