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It was 60 days prior that Morgan Rogers found himself on the pitch at Sunderland, appearing bewildered while Unai Emery scolded him over not reading a penetrating pass. Back then, as Villa endured a six-game winless run, doubts remained whether his performances were an indicator or a cause for Villa's more general malaise.

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

On Sunday, in contrast, the sideline response was entirely much more joyous. After Rogers curled home his brace-sealing goal to restore his side's advantage, Emery discarded his winter coat, opened his arms and shouted in triumph. The team marched on to a tenth straight victory , having failed to win their initial half-dozen matches, are somehow just three points behind the leaders Arsenal.

Is This Team Legitimate Challengers?

That’s a rather hard proposition to address. History, a general sense of the club, suggests not. Additionally, they've rarely been wholly dominant during this run, while the victories have piled up.

Per statistical analysis, on just two occasions has the team had an expected goals figure notably superior than the other team. For a team that have strung together 10 in a row, they seem weirdly vulnerable – but at the moment the fine lines are swinging for them.

The Rogers Recipe

The current approach appears to be to engage in a shootout with an opponent and wait for their talisman to rescue them with two clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it happened against West Ham, and again against United.

The initial strike originated from an exquisite effort, bent just inside the post from the corner of the box. The follow-up goal proved to be a somewhat messier replica of the opener as he pounced 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.”

Can It Last?

Reason suggests otherwise. Against United, the opponents managed more efforts and more direct attempts. Villa have triumphed in eight consecutive games by a single goal. They have allowed goals in all but one of those games.

A reversion to average might be the biggest rival Villa must confront as the season progresses. Their key man, surely, cannot maintain thrashing the football into the top corner indefinitely.

Potential for Growth

Perhaps there is an alternative path whereby, rather than outcomes regressing to match displays, the level of play rises to match the results. Important figures could still find their top level.

• Ollie Watkins may begin to scoring again.
• Jadon Sancho could transform into the force he resembled in Germany.
• The injured centre-backs will eventually return from injury, strengthening an occasionally vulnerable backline.

Maybe within that lies the seeds for a sustained push, however, it is improbable can continue to depend solely on one man.

Enjoying the Ride

However, nobody expected this. Nobody thought Aston Villa would be third at Christmas. And without a doubt back in October, few could imagine the midfielder now would be leading a hunt for the title while looking like a vital Three Lions star.

The current run is to be savoured precisely because it feels so unlikely. When the hero faced the Villa faithful when the game ended orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be relishing every moment. A feeling he has rightly earned. These runs of form do not happen often and ought to be celebrated.