Sir Alex delighted with Owen/Macheda partnership

Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with the performance of the Michael Owen/Federico Macheda strike partnership following Tuesday’s friendly win over the Malaysian XI. Both players hit the target early on as the Red Devils cruised to a relatively comfortable win.

Sir Alex Ferguson left Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench for his side's second pre-season friendly as the new and untested Owen/Macheda partnership got a chance to shine.

Macheda opened the scoring after eleven minutes and Owen hit the target moments later as United secured an impressive double against the Malaysian outfit.

Fergie was delighted with the performance of both players and emphasised the potential that Macheda has. The young Italian could find himself thrown into the limelight this season after Sir Alex revealed that the player's ability is one of the main reasons the club won't purchase another striker this summer.

"We started the game well as we did on Saturday and I was pleased by the partnership of Owen and Macheda. We've got big hopes for Macheda - that's one of the main reasons why we didn't move [for someone else] in the market. He's still only 17, but we've got great faith in the boy." said the Reds boss.