🔗 Share this article

It was two months prior when Morgan Rogers found himself on the Stadium of Light pitch, appearing bewildered as Unai Emery scolded him for missing a through-ball. During that period, as the club went six without a win, the question was if his performances were a sign or a cause of Villa's wider issues.

“When Rogers netted his second… Emery tore off his coat, threw his arms wide, and bellowed in delight.”

On Sunday, however, the touchline reaction was decidedly more positive. When the in-form star swept in his second to reinstate the lead for Villa, the boss tore off his winter coat, opened his arms and bellowed. Villa were on their way to ten wins in a row and having failed to win their initial half-dozen matches, are somehow a mere three points adrift of the leaders Arsenal.

Is This Team Serious Hopefuls?

It remains a rather hard proposition to answer. History, the perceived status of Villa, suggests not. Moreover, they've rarely been wholly dominant this season, despite the fact the victories have stacked up.

As per Opta, twice all season has the team registered an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than their opponents. For a side that have put together ten consecutive victories, they seem curiously susceptible – however at the moment the fine lines are going in their favour.

The Winning Formula

The current approach seems to be to exchange chances with rivals and then rely on their talisman to bail them out with two precise efforts. This occurred away to Leeds, it happened in London, and once more versus the Red Devils.

The initial strike came from an exquisite effort, curled just inside the post from the corner of the box. The follow-up goal proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of the opener capitalizing on a setup by his strike partner.

“Perhaps Rogers’ right foot is becoming like Arjen Robben’s left: just because you know he’s going to whip the ball into the top corner doesn’t mean you can stop him.”

How Long Can This Continue?

Logic says not. During the latest victory, Manchester United registered more efforts and more efforts on goal. Villa have secured their last eight victories by a single goal. The defence has been breached in all except one of those games.

A statistical correction might be the most significant challenge they have to face over the coming weeks. Rogers, almost certainly, will not continue to thrashing the ball past despairing goalkeepers indefinitely.

A Case for Belief

Could it be an alternative path where, rather than outcomes regressing to match displays, performances begin to trend towards results. Key players may yet find their top level.

• Ollie Watkins may begin to scoring again.
• Jadon Sancho might become the player he resembled during his peak.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to come back from the treatment room, strengthening a periodically leaky defence.

Perhaps there is in that the potential of a genuine bid, however, it is improbable can persist in leaning entirely on Morgan Rogers.

Savoring the Moment

Yet, nobody expected this. Few believed the team would be in a Champions League place in December. And without a doubt back in October, no one envisioned the midfielder by the end of the year would be leading a title charge while looking like a crucial England player.

The current run is to be savoured exactly since it appears so improbable. As Rogers faced the Villa faithful at the final whistle orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be loving the experience. Which he fully merits. These runs of form are rare in football and ought to be celebrated.