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It was two months in the past that the Villa attacker found himself on the Sunderland turf, looking confused while the Villa manager admonished him for failing to anticipate a through-ball. Back then, as the club went six without a win, doubts remained if his displays were an indicator or a cause for Villa's more general malaise.

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

On Sunday, however, the manager's outburst proved to be decidedly more positive. As Rogers curled home his brace-sealing goal to reclaim the lead for Villa, the boss discarded his coat, spread his arms and roared. Villa continued to a 10th successive win , despite not winning any of their first six fixtures, are somehow just three points behind the leaders Arsenal.

Is This Team Legitimate Challengers?

This is a rather hard proposition to address. The historical record, a general sense of the club, argues against it. Furthermore, they've rarely been wholly dominant this season, despite the fact the positive results have stacked up.

As per the data, on just two occasions has the team registered an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than the other team. For a team which has just won 10 in a row, the Villans look strangely fragile – but right now the tight outcomes are going in their favour.

The Reliant Strategy

The current approach appears to be to engage in a shootout with the opposition before hoping Rogers to rescue them with two crisp finishes. This was the case away to Leeds, it transpired in London, and once more versus the Red Devils.

Rogers' first goal originated from an exquisite effort, curled precisely inside the upright from a wide position. The follow-up goal was essentially a slightly less clean iteration of goal number one as he pounced on a setup by his strike partner.

“Rogers’ right foot is now akin to Robben’s legendary left: forewarned does not mean forearmed, and stopping him is another matter entirely.”

Can It Last?

Reason suggests otherwise. In the recent win, the opposition managed a greater number of attempts and more efforts on goal. Villa have triumphed in eight consecutive games by just one goal. They have allowed goals in all but one of those matches.

A statistical correction may well be the greatest opponent they have to face as the season progresses. Rogers, in all likelihood, will not continue to drilling the football past despairing goalkeepers week in, week out.

Reasons for Optimism

Perhaps there is an alternative path whereby, instead of results trending towards performances, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Vital cogs may yet rediscover their best form.

• Ollie Watkins could start finding the net regularly.
• Jadon Sancho may rediscover the player he showed in Germany.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to regain fitness, strengthening a periodically leaky defensive unit.

Maybe within that lies the seeds of a genuine bid, however, it is improbable can persist in leaning entirely on Morgan Rogers.

Savoring the Moment

Yet, nobody expected this. Nobody thought the team would be in the top three for the holidays. And most definitely back in October, few could imagine Rogers by the end of the year would be spearheading a championship pursuit while establishing himself as a vital player for the national team.

The current run must be cherished exactly since it seems so surreal. As the hero faced the home supporters when the game ended orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be loving the experience. Which he fully merits. These spells do not happen often and should be relished.