Manchester United News: Michael Owen Makes United Even More Dangerous

And we thought Manchester United was deep enough already.

Sir Alex Ferguson gave 31-year-old Michael Owen his first start since January, and he responded with an emphatic and uplifting performance.

The veteran Englishman netted two goals, upping his impressive tally to 11 goals in 12 starts and proving in the process that United is possibly the deepest team in all of Europe.

Owen's performance did come against Leeds in the third round of the Carling Cup, but it was the first time Owen had kicked a ball in competitive play in quite some time.

The former England superstar—he scored 40 goals in 89 international appearances—is the fifth choice up top for Ferguson's club.

Wayne Rooney is obviously top choice, and Ferguson then has the privilege of choosing from Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, rising star Danny Welbeck and veteran Dimitar Berbatov—the club's leading scorer a year ago—before even getting down to Owen.

He knows his opportunities are limited, but every time Ferguson puts him on the pitch, he delivers.

Like most clubs, United has dealt with a rash of injuries this season.

Unlike most clubs, this one is more than equipped to handle it and have yet to taste defeat this season.

The only match United has failed to win this season was a 1-1 draw with Benfica in the first phase of the Champions League.

The only reason they can do this is because of all the depth they have. Injured stars like skipper Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand went down, and Phil Jones and Jonny Evans stood up.

This is life at Old Trafford. This is the way things work.

If any trouble were to befall United up top, they have stellar goal scorers on the bench just waiting for their turn.

After a bit of an absence, we can add Michael Owen to that list as well.