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Just two months ago when Morgan Rogers stood on the Stadium of Light pitch, appearing bewildered while Unai Emery admonished him for failing to anticipate a penetrating pass. During that period, with the team endured a six-game winless run, the question was whether his displays were a symptom or the reason of Villa's more general malaise.

“Following Rogers' second strike… Emery discarded his jacket, extended his arms, and let out a triumphant roar.”

This weekend, however, the touchline reaction was decidedly more positive. When the in-form star curled home his brace-sealing goal to reinstate the lead for Villa, Emery tore off his winter coat, spread his arms and roared. The Birmingham club continued to a tenth straight victory and despite not winning their initial half-dozen fixtures, now sit only three points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.

Are They Genuine Challengers?

This is a rather hard question to resolve. History, the perceived status of the club, indicates otherwise. Additionally, they have not been wholly dominant this season, even as the wins have accumulated.

According to Opta, on just two occasions has the side registered an expected goals figure significantly higher than the opposition. For a side who have strung together ten consecutive victories, the Villans appear weirdly vulnerable – however currently the fine lines are going in their favour.

The Reliant Strategy

The current approach appears to be to exchange chances with the opposition and then rely on their talisman to save the day with some clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it occurred in London, and again versus United.

Rogers' first goal originated from a brilliant finish, curled just inside the post from the corner of the box. For his second proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of his first as he seized 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. Against United, Manchester United managed a greater number of attempts and more shots on target. The team has triumphed in eight consecutive games by a single goal. They have allowed goals in all but one of those fixtures.

A statistical correction might be the biggest rival they will encounter as the season progresses. The forward, almost certainly, cannot keep on drilling his shots into the top corner forever.

Potential for Growth

Perhaps there is a different scenario in which, rather than outcomes regressing to match displays, performances begin to trend towards results. Vital cogs may yet rediscover their best form.

• The centre-forward could start finding the net regularly.
• The winger may rediscover the player he resembled in Germany.
• The injured centre-backs are set to regain fitness, bolstering a periodically leaky defensive unit.

Maybe within that lies the seeds of a title challenge, yet it seems unlikely cannot keep relying on Morgan Rogers.

Enjoying the Ride

However, nobody expected this. Few believed Villa would sit in the top three for the holidays. And certainly earlier this season, no one envisioned the midfielder now would be leading a hunt for the title and appearing as a vital player for the national team.

This winning streak is to be savoured exactly since it appears so improbable. As Rogers stood in front of the home supporters when the game ended leading the celebrations, he seemed to be relishing every moment. As he deserves to. Such periods do not happen often and must be appreciated.