To the strains of "Are You Watching Liverpool" the players of Manchester United danced off the Old Trafford pitch on Sunday as relieved perhaps as they have been in some time after a young unknown snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Federico Macheda enjoyed a stunning introduction to English football as he curled home an injury-time winner that sent the Red Devils back to the Premier League summit.

It seemed the Red Devils would have to settle for a point after Cristiano Ronaldo's brace had only proved enough to keep United level against a Villa side that thoroughly deserved a lead provided by John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

But Macheda, a former member of the Lazio academy who arrived at Old Trafford in 2007, was to have the last word.

At exactly the same moment as Yossi Benayoun struck for Liverpool at Fulham on Saturday, Macheda turned onto Ryan Giggs' low pass before unleashing a stunning shot that curled past Brad Friedel and sent Old Trafford into ecstasy.

Benayoun’s late strike was enough to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory when it looked as though the Reds were going to pay for missed chances. The Israeli international midfielder blasted a right-footed shot past Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to the delight of the traveling fans.

The win put Rafael Benitez's men two points clear at the top of the table -- although second-placed Manchester United had two games in hand on Saturday night.

Elsewhere, Newcastle living legend Alan Shearer returned to the club as temporary manager on Saturday but could only look on from the sidelines as his side lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea.

Former captain Shearer received a rapturous reception as he made his debut in the dugout after stepping in for the last eight games of the season in a bid to save the beleaguered club from Premier League relegation.

With his side third from bottom and three points from safety at the beginning of the day, Shearer had vowed to go for the win at St James' Park. But despite their positive play, his side ended the day empty-handed.

Some terrible defending by Fabricio Coloccini gifted Nicolas Anelka a chance, and when the Frenchman's shot hit the bar, Frank Lampard was on hand to convert the rebound.

It was quickly 2-0 when Florent Malouda capitalized on more slack defending to fire under Steve Harper and put the game beyond the hosts.

Newcastle should have pulled one back when Michael Owen's deflected shot appeared to go over the line before Ashley Cole cleared, but the goal was not given.

Returning duo Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas combined twice to give Arsenal a 2-0 win against Manchester City at Eastlands.

Captain Fabregas, back from a long injury lay-off, placed a delicate free-kick onto Adebayor's head for the Togo striker to nod home unmarked after eight minutes.

Fabregas' undoubted influence was in evidence again after the break when he played Adebayor in and Richard Dunne's failure to clear allowed the striker to double the lead in the 49th minute.

Closer to home the fiery red shirts of FC Dallas (once known as the Burn) conjured up images of sweat and toil under the southern sun, but the Texas outfit got a taste of New England’s home comforts as a cold April wind almost blew them off the park in the Revolution’s home opener in Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.

Steve Ralston put the seal on a fine victory with ten minutes left in this contest, this coming after the visitors had come out of the blocks in impressive fashion and taken a deserved lead through big front man Kenny Cooper.

There was little going right for the Revs in the opening period -- Kenny Mansally’s runs down the right often resulted in misplaced crosses or laborious passes to resigned teammates, but it all came good ten minutes after the restart when Sainey Nyassi took a ball from the brilliant Shalrie Joseph and found a way past goalkeeper Ray Burse.

Ralston’s winner on 80 minutes was rather fortuitous with Kheli Dube falling rather theatrically under a tug from George John -- referee Silviu Petrescu buying the sell hook, line and sinker. Reliable old head that he is, Ralston stutter-stepped up and sent Burse the wrong way from 12 yards.

It was a case of the local boys getting the three points without playing particularly well.

There were, however, some encouraging performances from the men in blue -- Joseph is as good as ever (will Glasgow Celtic come back with a bigger offer for him this summer?), and Wells Thompson was a pleasant surprise in midfield (his eye-catching work rate and ball distribution makes him a possibility for foreign clubs).

All in all the Revolution’s opening day, the family atmosphere, and the stadium pizza was an uplifting experience. The standard of football has been compared to that of the Championship in England -- it is a notch or two above that. All that is lacking for the American game in the present day is that little bit of "extra mile" marketing -- suffice to say that the Premier League fanatic in the bars of Boston would be pleasantly surprised by the fare on offer at Gillette Stadium these days.

With two wins and one draw from three outings, Steve Nicol’s outfit are destined to be, like his former club in England, there or thereabouts when the silverware is handed out next fall.

Away from Foxborough Freddie Ljungberg’s Seattle team are the dark horses of this young MLS season, while New York had a man advantage over Chicago for 76 minutes in the Windy City on Sunday, but failed to register the game’s only goal. That honor went to the Fire’s Marco Pappa.