Morgan Rogers' Scoring Streak Propels Aston Villa's Improbable Title Charge

A mere two months prior when the Villa attacker stood on the pitch at Sunderland, looking confused while Unai Emery scolded him for not reading a through-ball. Back then, as Villa went six without a win, doubts remained whether his performances were a sign or the source of the side's broader struggles.

This weekend, however, the sideline response was entirely far more favourable. As the England international curled home his second to reclaim the lead for Villa, Emery discarded his jacket, threw his arms wide and roared. The team marched on to ten wins in a row and having failed to win any of their first six fixtures, find themselves just three points behind pace-setters Arsenal.

Are They Serious Hopefuls?

That’s a rather hard question to address. Past precedent, the perceived status of Villa, argues against it. Moreover, they've rarely been completely commanding this season, while the positive results have stacked up.

As per Opta, twice all season have Villa registered an expected goals figure notably superior than the opposition. For a club which has just won ten consecutive victories, they look weirdly vulnerable – yet currently the fine lines are going in their favour.

The Rogers Recipe

The prevailing tactic appears to be to engage in a shootout with rivals and wait for Rogers to bail them out with some clinical strikes. It happened against Leeds, it happened against West Ham, and again against United.

The initial strike originated from a superb shot, bent just inside the goal frame from the corner of the box. The follow-up goal proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of goal number one as he seized on an Ollie Watkins lay-off.

Is It Sustainable?

Common sense dictates no. Against United, Manchester United had more shots and more efforts on goal. They have won each of their last eight by a single goal. They have allowed goals in nearly all of those games.

A reversion to average may well be the greatest opponent Villa have to face as the season progresses. Their key man, almost certainly, cannot keep on drilling the football into the net's top corner forever.

A Case for Belief

Perhaps there is a different scenario whereby, instead of results trending towards performances, the level of play rises to match the results. Important figures may yet find their top level.

• The centre-forward may begin to scoring again.
• Jadon Sancho might become the performer he showed during his peak.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are set to return from injury, fortifying a periodically leaky defensive unit.

This could contain the possibility for a sustained push, but they surely cannot keep relying on Morgan Rogers.

Enjoying the Ride

Yet, this was unforeseen. Few believed Aston Villa would occupy in the top three for the holidays. And most definitely back in October, few could imagine the young forward as the year closed would be at the forefront of a championship pursuit while establishing himself as a vital Three Lions star.

This remarkable period must be cherished exactly since it feels so unlikely. When Rogers positioned himself before the North End after the match conducting the cheers, he appeared to be thoroughly enjoying it. As he deserves to. Such periods are rare in football and ought to be celebrated.