It was 60 days in the past when the Villa attacker found himself on the pitch at Sunderland, looking confused while his coach admonished him over failing to anticipate a through-ball. Back then, as Villa endured a six-game winless run, doubts remained whether Rogers' form were a sign or a cause for Villa's broader struggles.
“When Rogers netted his second… Emery tore off his coat, threw his arms wide, and bellowed in delight.”
This weekend, though, the touchline reaction proved to be much more joyous. After the England international drilled in his brace-sealing goal to restore Villa's lead, Emery discarded his coat, opened his arms and shouted in triumph. Villa marched on to a 10th successive win and after failing to win their opening six games, find themselves a mere three points behind table-toppers Arsenal.
Is This Team Serious Title Contenders?
It remains a rather hard question to address. Past precedent, the traditional standing of this institution, suggests not. Furthermore, they've rarely been wholly dominant in many games, while the positive results have accumulated.
Per Opta, twice all season has the team posted an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than their opponents. For a team who have just won 10 in a row, the Villans seem weirdly vulnerable – yet right now the margins are swinging for them.
The Reliant Strategy
Their recent policy looks like to engage in a shootout with the opposition before hoping their star man to bail them out with some crisp finishes. It happened away to Leeds, it happened at West Ham, and again when facing United.
The initial strike came from a brilliant finish, arced just inside the post from a wide position. The follow-up goal was essentially a somewhat messier replica of the opener as he pounced on an Ollie Watkins lay-off.
“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. Against United, the opponents registered more efforts and more efforts on goal. They have won each of their last eight by a single goal. They have allowed goals in nearly all of those matches.
A reversion to average could be the most significant challenge they must confront over the coming weeks. Their key man, in all likelihood, cannot maintain blasting his shots into the top corner indefinitely.
Reasons for Optimism
Perhaps there is a different scenario whereby, rather than results trending towards performances, performances begin to trend towards results. Key players could still return to peak condition.
- Ollie Watkins may begin to scoring again.
- The attacking talent may rediscover the force he resembled at Borussia Dortmund.
- Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to regain fitness, strengthening a sometimes shaky defence.
Perhaps there is in that the seeds for a sustained push, yet it seems unlikely can continue to depend solely on one man.
Relishing the Unlikely
Yet, nobody expected this. Few believed Aston Villa would sit in the top three for the holidays. And most definitely two months ago, nobody thought the young forward as the year closed would be leading a championship pursuit while establishing himself as a crucial Three Lions star.
The current run must be cherished precisely because it seems so surreal. As the match-winner stood in front of the North End after the match conducting the cheers, he appeared to be loving the experience. Which he fully merits. Such periods do not happen often and must be appreciated.
