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It was eight weeks in the past that the young forward stood on the Sunderland turf, seeming perplexed while the Villa manager admonished him over not reading a penetrating pass. Back then, as the club failed to win in six, doubts remained if his displays were a symptom or the reason for the team's wider issues.

“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 proved to be much more joyous. As Rogers swept in his second strike to reinstate his side's advantage, the Spanish tactician discarded his coat, opened his arms and shouted in triumph. The team marched on to ten wins in a row , having failed to win their opening six games, now sit only three points behind pace-setters Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Legitimate Hopefuls?

It remains a particularly tough question to resolve. Past precedent, the perceived status of this institution, indicates otherwise. Moreover, they have not been completely commanding during this run, while the positive results have piled up.

Per statistical analysis, twice all season has the side had an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than their opponents. For a club that have strung together a ten-match winning streak, the Villans appear weirdly vulnerable – but currently the fine lines are going in their favour.

The Winning Formula

The current approach appears to be to trade blows with rivals before hoping their star man to save the day with some clinical strikes. This was the case at Leeds, it happened against West Ham, and again when facing United.

His opener stemmed from a superb shot, arced right inside the goal frame from the edge of the area. His brace-completing goal proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of goal number one capitalizing on a pass from Watkins.

“Much like Robben with his left, Rogers’ right foot has become a known threat that remains brutally unstoppable, regardless of anticipation.”

Is It Sustainable?

Reason suggests otherwise. In the recent win, the opposition registered more efforts and more shots on target. The team has triumphed in eight consecutive games by the narrowest of margins. They’ve conceded in nearly all of those games.

Regression to the mean might be the most significant challenge the club must confront over the coming weeks. Rogers, almost certainly, cannot keep on thrashing the football into the net's top corner week in, week out.

A Case for Belief

Could it be an alternative path where, rather than outcomes regressing to match displays, performances begin to trend towards results. Vital cogs could still find their top level.

• The centre-forward might resume scoring again.
• The winger could transform into the player he resembled in Germany.
• The injured centre-backs are set to return from injury, strengthening a periodically leaky backline.

This could contain the seeds of a title challenge, however, it is improbable cannot keep relying on Morgan Rogers.

Relishing the Unlikely

But then, nobody expected this. Few believed Villa would be in a Champions League place in December. And most definitely back in October, nobody thought the midfielder by the end of the year would be leading a title charge and appearing as a vital player for the national team.

This remarkable period must be cherished for the very reason that it seems so surreal. When the hero stood in front of the North End after the match orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be thoroughly enjoying it. As he deserves to. These runs of form do not happen often and ought to be celebrated.