🔗 Share this article

Just 60 days ago when the Villa attacker was standing on the pitch at Sunderland, seeming perplexed as Unai Emery admonished him for missing a through-ball. Back then, as the club failed to win in six, doubts remained whether his displays were a symptom or the reason of the team's more general malaise.

“As Rogers swept in his second… Emery ripped off his thick padded coat, spread his arms and roared.”

In the latest match, in contrast, the touchline reaction was much more joyous. As Rogers swept in his brace-sealing goal to reclaim the lead for Villa, the Spanish tactician ripped off his coat, spread his arms and shouted in triumph. Villa were on their way to a 10th successive win , despite not winning their initial half-dozen fixtures, are somehow a mere three points off the leaders Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Genuine Title Contenders?

This is a rather hard query to answer. Past precedent, the perceived status of the club, suggests not. Additionally, their performances haven't been entirely convincing this season, while the victories have stacked up.

According to the data, twice all season has the side had an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than the opposition. For a team who have just won ten consecutive victories, the Villans appear strangely fragile – but at the moment the fine lines are swinging for them.

The Winning Formula

Their recent policy seems to be to trade blows with the opposition before hoping their star man to rescue them with some clinical strikes. This occurred away to Leeds, it transpired against West Ham, and once more versus the Red Devils.

His opener originated from an exquisite effort, arced precisely inside the goal frame from a wide position. The follow-up goal proved to be a somewhat messier replica of his first capitalizing on a pass from Watkins.

“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?

Reason suggests otherwise. Against United, Manchester United managed more efforts and more efforts on goal. They have secured their last eight victories by the narrowest of margins. The defence has been breached in nearly all of those matches.

Regression to the mean may well be the most significant challenge they must confront in the near future. Rogers, surely, cannot keep on thrashing his shots into the net's top corner indefinitely.

Reasons for Optimism

Perhaps there is an alternative path in which, instead of results trending towards performances, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Vital cogs might still find their top level.

• The centre-forward may begin to scoring again.
• The winger could transform into the force he resembled in Germany.
• The defensive duo are due to come back from the treatment room, strengthening a periodically leaky defensive unit.

Perhaps there is in that the possibility for a sustained push, yet it seems unlikely cannot keep relying on a single individual.

Savoring the Moment

However, nobody expected this. Few believed Aston Villa would occupy in a Champions League place in December. And most definitely two months ago, nobody thought the midfielder as the year closed would be leading a title charge and appearing as an essential Three Lions star.

The current run should be enjoyed exactly since it appears so improbable. As Rogers stood in front of the home supporters after the match conducting the cheers, it was clear to be thoroughly enjoying it. As he deserves to. These spells do not happen often and ought to be celebrated.