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A mere two months ago when the young forward found himself on the pitch at Sunderland, appearing bewildered as the Villa manager admonished him over not reading a pass in behind. At that point, with the team failed to win in six, it wasn't clear if his displays were a sign or the reason of Villa's more general malaise.

“Following Rogers' second strike… Emery discarded his jacket, extended his arms, and let out a triumphant roar.”

In the latest match, in contrast, the sideline response proved to be decidedly more positive. After the England international drilled in his second to restore the lead for Villa, Emery discarded his winter coat, threw his arms wide and roared. The Birmingham club marched on to ten wins in a row and having failed to win any of their first six fixtures, are somehow a mere three points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Genuine Title Contenders?

It remains a rather hard proposition to address. Past precedent, the perceived status of Villa, indicates otherwise. Furthermore, they have not been completely commanding in many games, while the positive results have accumulated.

As per the data, in only two games has the side registered an xG notably superior than the other team. For a side who have just won a ten-match winning streak, they look strangely fragile – but at the moment the margins are falling their way.

The Reliant Strategy

The prevailing tactic appears to be to trade blows with the opposition and wait for their star man to bail them out with two clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it transpired against West Ham, and once more versus United.

The initial strike originated from an exquisite effort, arced precisely inside the goal frame from a wide position. His brace-completing goal proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of his first capitalizing on an Ollie Watkins lay-off.

“Much like Robben with his left, Rogers’ right foot has become a known threat that remains brutally unstoppable, regardless of anticipation.”

Is It Sustainable?

Reason suggests otherwise. During the latest victory, Manchester United registered more shots and more shots on target. Villa have secured their last eight victories by just one goal. The defence has been breached in all but one of those games.

A reversion to average might be the greatest opponent the club will encounter over the coming weeks. Their key man, surely, cannot keep on drilling the football into the top corner week in, week out.

Reasons for Optimism

Maybe there exists another reality in which, rather than results trending towards performances, performances begin to trend towards results. Key players could still find their top level.

• The centre-forward might resume scoring again.
• Jadon Sancho might become the force he resembled at Borussia Dortmund.
• The defensive duo are due to regain fitness, bolstering a periodically leaky defensive unit.

This could contain the potential of a title challenge, yet it seems unlikely can persist in leaning entirely on Morgan Rogers.

Savoring the Moment

But then, nobody expected this. Few believed Aston Villa would be in the top three for the holidays. And most definitely earlier this season, nobody thought the young forward by the end of the year would be leading a championship pursuit while establishing himself as a crucial Three Lions star.

The current run is to be savoured for the very reason that it seems so surreal. When the match-winner stood in front of the Villa faithful at the final whistle orchestrating the applause, he seemed to be loving the experience. As he deserves to. These runs of form do not happen often and ought to be celebrated.