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A mere eight weeks ago that the Villa attacker found himself on the pitch at Sunderland, seeming perplexed as the Villa manager berated him for not reading a through-ball. During that period, as Villa went six without a win, doubts remained if Rogers' form were a symptom or the source for the team's more general malaise.

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

This weekend, though, the manager's outburst was far more favourable. After the England international curled home his second to restore his side's advantage, the boss tore off his jacket, opened his arms and roared. The team continued to a tenth straight victory and despite not winning any of their first six games, are somehow just three points off table-toppers Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Genuine Hopefuls?

This is a rather hard proposition to answer. The historical record, a general sense of the club, argues against it. Furthermore, their performances haven't been completely commanding this season, while the positive results have stacked up.

According to the data, on just two occasions have Villa registered an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than the other team. For a team that have strung together ten consecutive victories, the Villans appear weirdly vulnerable – but currently the fine lines are falling their way.

The Rogers Recipe

The current approach looks like to engage in a shootout with an opponent before hoping their star man to save the day with a couple of clinical strikes. This occurred against Leeds, it happened against West Ham, and it happened when facing Manchester United.

His opener stemmed from a superb shot, arced just inside the upright from the corner of the box. The follow-up goal acted as a slightly less clean iteration of his first capitalizing 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.”

Is It Sustainable?

Logic says not. Against United, the opposition had a greater number of attempts and more shots on target. They have won each of their last eight by a single goal. They’ve conceded in all except one of those games.

A statistical correction might be the greatest opponent the club have to face over the coming weeks. Rogers, in all likelihood, cannot keep on blasting the football into the top corner week in, week out.

Reasons for Optimism

Could it be a different scenario in which, instead of results trending towards performances, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Vital cogs might still return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward may begin to scoring again.
• The attacking talent may rediscover the force he showed during his peak.
• The injured centre-backs will eventually regain fitness, bolstering a periodically leaky defensive unit.

This could contain the potential for a sustained push, however, it is improbable can continue to depend solely on Morgan Rogers.

Enjoying the Ride

But then, nobody expected this. Few believed Aston Villa would occupy in the top three for the holidays. And without a doubt earlier this season, no one envisioned the young forward by the end of the year would be leading a hunt for the title while establishing himself as a crucial Three Lions star.

This remarkable period is to be savoured exactly since it feels so unlikely. As the match-winner faced the home supporters after the match leading the celebrations, it was clear to be relishing every moment. A feeling he has rightly earned. Such periods are rare in football and ought to be celebrated.