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A mere eight weeks ago when the Villa attacker stood on the pitch at Sunderland, appearing bewildered as his coach admonished him over missing a pass in behind. During that period, as Villa failed to win in six, doubts remained if Rogers' form were a symptom or a cause for 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 sideline response was far more favourable. After Rogers drilled in his second to reclaim his side's advantage, the boss discarded his coat, opened his arms and roared. Villa marched on to ten wins in a row , having failed to win their initial half-dozen matches, find themselves only three points behind table-toppers Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Legitimate Hopefuls?

It remains a particularly tough query to resolve. The historical record, the perceived status of this institution, indicates otherwise. Furthermore, they've rarely been wholly dominant during this run, even as the victories have stacked up.

According to statistical analysis, twice all season have Villa registered an expected goals figure notably superior than their opponents. For a team who have strung together ten consecutive victories, Villa appear curiously susceptible – however currently the margins are going in their favour.

The Rogers Recipe

Their recent policy seems to be to trade blows with the opposition before hoping Rogers to save the day with two clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it transpired in London, and it happened against the Red Devils.

The initial strike originated from a brilliant finish, arced just inside the goal frame from the edge of the area. His brace-completing goal acted as a slightly less clean iteration of his first capitalizing on an Ollie Watkins lay-off.

“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.”

Can It Last?

Common sense dictates no. Against United, the opponents managed more efforts and more efforts on goal. The team has won each of their last eight by just one goal. The defence has been breached in all but one of those fixtures.

A statistical correction might be the greatest opponent Villa must confront in the near future. Their key man, almost certainly, will not continue to drilling his shots into the net's top corner week in, week out.

Reasons for Optimism

Perhaps there is another reality whereby, rather than results trending towards performances, the level of play rises to match the results. Vital cogs may yet return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward may begin to scoring again.
• The winger might become the performer he was at Borussia Dortmund.
• The defensive duo are set to return from injury, fortifying a sometimes shaky defence.

Perhaps there is in that the potential of a title challenge, however, it is improbable cannot keep relying on Morgan Rogers.

Enjoying the Ride

Yet, this is a surprise. It seemed improbable Villa would occupy third at Christmas. And certainly earlier this season, nobody thought the young forward now would be at the forefront of a title charge while establishing himself as an essential Three Lions star.

This remarkable period must be cherished exactly since it appears so improbable. When the hero positioned himself before the Villa faithful when the game ended orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be loving the experience. A feeling he has rightly earned. These spells do not happen often and should be relished.