Italian teen Federico Macheda was such an unknown before Sunday’s game against Aston Villa that Manchester United captain Gary Neville admitted he had never seen him. All Macheda did was come off the bench and lead United to a 3-2 win over Villa with a stoppage-time goal that kept it in the lead in the English Premier League. For who’s up, who’s down, who’s in and who’s out in Europe …
UP …
FELIX MAGATH. Fired by Bayern Munich in 2007 after leading the team to two consecutive German league and cup doubles, Magath watched Wolfsburg take the lead in the Bundesliga on goal difference with a 5-1 win over Bayern on Saturday with doubles from strikers Grafite and Edin Dzeko. Hamburg, a 1-0 winner over Hoffenheim, is second, and previous leader Hertha Berlin slumped to third place after it lost, 3-1, at home to Borussia Dortmund.
DOWN …
JUVENTUS. The Old Lady of Italian soccer had its five-game winning streak snapped when it was held to a 3-3 tie by Chievo at home. Juve allowed Sergio Pellissier to head in a stoppage-time equalizer for his third goal of the game. The result dropped it nine points behind leader Inter Milan, a 1-0 winner at Udinese on an own goal.
IN …
FEDERICO MACHEDA. In his debut, 17-year-old Italian scored the last-minute winner to give English Premier League leader Manchester United a 3-2 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday. Macheda was such an unknown that United captain Gary Neville admitted he had never seen him before the game. Putting a damper on the celebrations, Macheda, who arrived from Lazio in August, was booked for running into the crowd and hugging his father in delight.
OUT …
SANTI CAZORLA. The Villarreal winger fractured a bone in his right leg in the Spanish club’s 3-0 loss to Almeria and will miss the rest of the season. Cazorla, a member of Spain’s national team, will miss the Champions League quarterfinal against Arsenal on Tuesday. He’ll also miss the Confederations Cup in June.