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Just two months ago that the Villa attacker was standing on the Stadium of Light pitch, appearing bewildered as the Villa manager admonished him over missing a through-ball. During that period, as the club endured a six-game winless run, the question was if Rogers' form were a symptom or the source for the team's more general malaise.

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

This weekend, in contrast, the manager's outburst was decidedly more positive. After Rogers drilled in his brace-sealing goal to restore the lead for Villa, Emery tore off his jacket, opened his arms and bellowed. The Birmingham club continued to ten wins in a row and after failing to win any of their first six games, find themselves only three points off table-toppers Arsenal.

Is This Team Genuine Hopefuls?

It remains an exceptionally difficult proposition to answer. Past precedent, a general sense of Villa, suggests not. Additionally, they've rarely been wholly dominant in many games, despite the fact the positive results have piled up.

According to Opta, on just two occasions have Villa posted an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than the opposition. For a club which has strung together ten consecutive victories, the Villans look curiously susceptible – yet at the moment the fine lines are falling their way.

The Rogers Recipe

The current approach seems to be to engage in a shootout with an opponent and then rely on their talisman to bail them out with some clinical strikes. It happened against Leeds, it occurred in London, and it happened when facing the Red Devils.

His opener came from an exquisite effort, curled precisely inside the goal frame from a wide position. For his second proved to be a slightly less clean iteration of the opener as he seized 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.”

Can It Last?

Common sense dictates no. During the latest victory, Manchester United registered a greater number of attempts and more efforts on goal. Villa have won each of their last eight by a single goal. They have allowed goals in all but one of those fixtures.

A reversion to average may well be the biggest rival they will encounter over the coming weeks. The forward, almost certainly, will not continue to thrashing his shots into the net's top corner indefinitely.

Potential for Growth

Perhaps there is a different scenario where, instead of outcomes regressing to match displays, performances begin to trend towards results. Vital cogs may yet return to peak condition.

• Ollie Watkins might resume adding to his goal tally.
• The winger might become the player he was in Germany.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to return from injury, strengthening a periodically leaky defensive unit.

This could contain the potential for a sustained push, yet it seems unlikely can persist in leaning entirely on Morgan Rogers.

Enjoying the Ride

Yet, nobody expected this. It seemed improbable Aston Villa would occupy in a Champions League place in December. And most definitely back in October, few could imagine the midfielder now would be leading a hunt for the title while establishing himself as a crucial Three Lions star.

This winning streak should be enjoyed precisely because it seems so surreal. As the match-winner faced the Villa faithful after the match orchestrating the applause, it was clear to be thoroughly enjoying it. As he deserves to. These runs of form do not happen often and should be relished.