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It was 60 days in the past that the young forward found himself on the Stadium of Light pitch, looking confused as Unai Emery admonished him over failing to anticipate a penetrating pass. During that period, as the club went six without a win, doubts remained if his displays were an indicator or a cause of the team's more general malaise.

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

In the latest match, though, the sideline response was much more joyous. After the in-form star curled home his second strike to reclaim the lead for Villa, the Spanish tactician tore off his winter coat, opened his arms and bellowed. The Birmingham club were on their way to ten wins in a row , having failed to win their opening six games, find themselves a mere three points behind pace-setters Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Legitimate Hopefuls?

This is a particularly tough question to resolve. Past precedent, a general sense of Villa, suggests not. Moreover, they have not been entirely convincing during this run, while the wins have piled up.

Per the data, in only two games has the side registered an expected goals figure notably superior than the opposition. For a club that have strung together a ten-match winning streak, they seem weirdly vulnerable – but currently the fine lines are swinging for them.

The Rogers Recipe

The current approach seems to be to engage in a shootout with rivals and then rely on Rogers to bail them out with a couple of precise efforts. It happened against Leeds, it occurred against West Ham, and again when facing United.

His opener stemmed from an exquisite effort, curled just inside the post from the edge of the area. His brace-completing goal proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of his first as he pounced on a pass from Watkins.

“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?

Common sense dictates no. Against United, Manchester United managed a greater number of attempts and more efforts on goal. They have secured their last eight victories by the narrowest of margins. The defence has been breached in all except one of those fixtures.

A statistical correction may well be the biggest rival Villa will encounter as the season progresses. Their key man, almost certainly, cannot maintain drilling his shots into the net's top corner indefinitely.

Reasons for Optimism

Could it be another reality in which, rather than results trending towards performances, performances begin to trend towards results. Vital cogs may yet return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward may begin to finding the net regularly.
• The attacking talent might become the performer he was at Borussia Dortmund.
• The injured centre-backs are set to return from injury, bolstering an occasionally vulnerable backline.

Maybe within that lies the possibility of a title challenge, but they surely can continue to depend solely on Morgan Rogers.

Relishing the Unlikely

However, nobody expected this. It seemed improbable Villa would be in the top three for the holidays. And most definitely two months ago, no one envisioned the young forward as the year closed would be spearheading a hunt for the title while establishing himself as a vital England player.

The current run must be cherished for the very reason that it feels so unlikely. As the hero positioned himself before the home supporters when the game ended leading the celebrations, he seemed to be relishing every moment. Which he fully merits. These runs of form do not happen often and ought to be celebrated.