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It was 60 days prior that the young forward found himself on the pitch at Sunderland, appearing bewildered while his coach admonished him for missing a penetrating pass. At that point, with the team went six without a win, doubts remained if his performances were a sign or the reason for Villa's more general malaise.

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

On Sunday, in contrast, the touchline reaction was far more favourable. As Rogers swept in his brace-sealing goal to reinstate the lead for Villa, Emery ripped off his winter coat, spread his arms and bellowed. The Birmingham club continued to a tenth straight victory and despite not winning their initial half-dozen games, now sit only three points adrift of pace-setters Arsenal.

Is This Team Legitimate Hopefuls?

This is an exceptionally difficult query to answer. Past precedent, the traditional standing of this institution, indicates otherwise. Additionally, their performances haven't been entirely convincing this season, despite the fact the wins have piled up.

Per the data, in only two games have Villa had an xG more than 0.5 greater than the opposition. For a team who have put together a ten-match winning streak, Villa look curiously susceptible – however right now the margins are going in their favour.

The Reliant Strategy

The prevailing tactic looks like to trade blows with rivals and wait for their talisman to bail them out with two precise efforts. It happened away to Leeds, it occurred against West Ham, and once more when facing United.

His opener originated from a superb shot, bent right inside the goal frame from the corner of the box. His brace-completing goal proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of the opener capitalizing on a setup by his strike partner.

“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.”

Is It Sustainable?

Reason suggests otherwise. In the recent win, Manchester United had a greater number of attempts and more shots on target. The team has won each of their last eight by a single goal. The defence has been breached in all but one of those games.

A reversion to average could be the most significant challenge they must confront as the season progresses. The forward, almost certainly, will not continue to thrashing his shots into the top corner indefinitely.

Reasons for Optimism

Could it be a different scenario in which, instead of outcomes regressing to match displays, the level of play rises to match the results. Vital cogs could still return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward could start finding the net regularly.
• Jadon Sancho may rediscover the force he was at Borussia Dortmund.
• The injured centre-backs are due to return from injury, bolstering an occasionally vulnerable backline.

This could contain the potential of a title challenge, but they surely can continue to depend solely on a single individual.

Relishing the Unlikely

Yet, nobody expected this. Few believed Aston Villa would be in a Champions League place in December. And certainly two months ago, few could imagine the midfielder now would be leading a championship pursuit and appearing as a vital England player.

The current run must be cherished precisely because it feels so unlikely. When Rogers faced the North End at the final whistle orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be loving the experience. A feeling he has rightly earned. These runs of form are uncommon in the sport and should be relished.