A mere 60 days prior when the Villa attacker found himself on the pitch at Sunderland, seeming perplexed while his coach admonished him for missing a through-ball. Back then, with the team failed to win in six, the question was if his displays were an indicator or the source for Villa's more general malaise.
“As Rogers swept in his second… Emery ripped off his thick padded coat, spread his arms and roared.”
This weekend, however, the sideline response proved to be far more favourable. As Rogers drilled in his second strike to restore the lead for Villa, the Spanish tactician ripped off his coat, spread his arms and bellowed. Villa marched on to a 10th successive win , despite not winning their initial half-dozen fixtures, are somehow a mere three points adrift of the leaders Arsenal.
Is This Team Legitimate Hopefuls?
This is a rather hard question to address. Past precedent, a general sense of this institution, suggests not. Additionally, they've rarely been completely commanding this season, while the wins have stacked up.
Per statistical analysis, in only two games has the side posted an expected goals figure significantly higher than their opponents. For a side which has put together a ten-match winning streak, Villa look curiously susceptible – but right now the margins are going in their favour.
The Winning Formula
The prevailing tactic seems to be to trade blows with rivals before hoping their star man to bail them out with a couple of clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it occurred against West Ham, and again against the Red Devils.
His opener stemmed from an exquisite effort, curled just inside the post from the corner of the box. For his second proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of the opener as he seized 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.”
Is It Sustainable?
Common sense dictates no. Against United, the opponents managed more efforts and more efforts on goal. Villa have won each of their last eight by the narrowest of margins. They have allowed goals in nearly all of those games.
A statistical correction could be the biggest rival they must confront as the season progresses. Their key man, surely, cannot keep on drilling his shots into the net's top corner forever.
A Case for Belief
Maybe there exists an alternative path whereby, instead of outcomes regressing to match displays, the level of play rises to match the results. Important figures may yet find their top level.
- The centre-forward may begin to adding to his goal tally.
- The attacking talent might become the performer he resembled at Borussia Dortmund.
- Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres will eventually return from injury, bolstering a sometimes shaky defensive unit.
Perhaps there is in that the seeds of a genuine bid, yet it seems unlikely cannot keep relying on Morgan Rogers.
Relishing the Unlikely
Yet, nobody expected this. It seemed improbable Aston Villa would occupy in the top three for the holidays. And certainly back in October, few could imagine the young forward now would be at the forefront of a championship pursuit while looking like a crucial player for the national team.
This remarkable period should be enjoyed exactly since it seems so surreal. As the match-winner faced the home supporters at the final whistle orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be loving the experience. As he deserves to. These runs of form are rare in football and must be appreciated.
