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Just two months ago when the Villa attacker stood on the Stadium of Light pitch, seeming perplexed while his coach scolded him for failing to anticipate a through-ball. At that point, as the club went six without a win, it wasn't clear if his performances were a symptom or the source for Villa's more general malaise.

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

This weekend, however, the touchline reaction proved to be much more joyous. As the in-form star swept in his brace-sealing goal to reclaim the lead for Villa, Emery discarded his winter coat, opened his arms and roared. Villa continued to a tenth straight victory and despite not winning any of their first six fixtures, now sit a mere three points behind table-toppers Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Serious Challengers?

That’s a particularly tough query to answer. History, a general sense of the club, argues against it. Furthermore, they have not been completely commanding during this run, despite the fact the wins have accumulated.

As per statistical analysis, in only two games has the team posted an xG more than 0.5 greater than the opposition. For a side which has just won a ten-match winning streak, they look strangely fragile – yet at the moment the tight outcomes are falling their way.

The Rogers Recipe

The prevailing tactic appears to be to exchange chances with the opposition and then rely on their talisman to save the day with two precise efforts. It happened at Leeds, it transpired against West Ham, and once more versus the Red Devils.

Rogers' first goal originated from a superb shot, curled precisely inside the goal frame from the corner of the box. For his second acted as a slightly less clean iteration of the opener as he pounced on an Ollie Watkins lay-off.

“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.”

Can It Last?

Common sense dictates no. Against United, Manchester United managed more efforts and more shots on target. The team has won each of their last eight by the narrowest of margins. They’ve conceded in all except one of those matches.

A statistical correction might be the biggest rival Villa must confront over the coming weeks. The forward, in all likelihood, cannot maintain thrashing the ball past despairing goalkeepers week in, week out.

Reasons for Optimism

Could it be a different scenario whereby, instead of results trending towards performances, performances begin to trend towards results. Vital cogs could still return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward could start finding the net regularly.
• The winger may rediscover the player he showed during his peak.
• The injured centre-backs are due to regain fitness, fortifying a sometimes shaky defence.

Maybe within that lies the seeds for a sustained push, but they surely can continue to depend solely on a single individual.

Relishing the Unlikely

However, nobody expected this. Nobody thought the team would be in a Champions League place in December. And certainly back in October, few could imagine Rogers as the year closed would be leading a title charge while establishing himself as a crucial England player.

The current run must be cherished for the very reason that it feels so unlikely. As the match-winner stood in front of the Villa faithful after the match orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be relishing every moment. A feeling he has rightly earned. These spells are rare in football and ought to be celebrated.