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A mere two months prior that Morgan Rogers stood on the Stadium of Light pitch, looking confused as the Villa manager berated him over not reading a through-ball. At that point, as Villa failed to win in six, the question was whether his performances were an indicator or a cause of the team's more general malaise.

“When Rogers netted his second… Emery tore off his coat, threw his arms wide, and bellowed in delight.”

On Sunday, though, the sideline response proved to be far more favourable. As Rogers curled home his brace-sealing goal to reinstate his side's advantage, the boss discarded his coat, opened his arms and bellowed. The team were on their way to ten wins in a row and after failing to win any of their first six matches, are somehow just three points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.

Are They Genuine Challengers?

It remains an exceptionally difficult question to answer. History, a general sense of the club, indicates otherwise. Furthermore, they've rarely been entirely convincing this season, despite the fact the positive results have piled up.

As per the data, twice all season has the team registered an expected goals figure significantly higher than the opposition. For a side that have strung together ten consecutive victories, the Villans appear weirdly vulnerable – however right now the margins are swinging for them.

The Reliant Strategy

Their recent policy seems to be to engage in a shootout with an opponent before hoping Rogers to bail them out with a couple of crisp finishes. This was the case away to Leeds, it happened at West Ham, and it happened versus Manchester United.

His opener stemmed from a brilliant finish, curled precisely inside the goal frame from the edge of the area. The follow-up goal acted as a somewhat messier replica of the opener as he pounced on a pass from Watkins.

“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?

Common sense dictates no. In the recent win, the opposition managed more efforts and more shots on target. The team has triumphed in eight consecutive games by just one goal. They have allowed goals in all except one of those games.

Regression to the mean may well be the greatest opponent they have to face as the season progresses. Rogers, almost certainly, cannot keep on thrashing his shots into the top corner forever.

Potential for Growth

Perhaps there is a different scenario where, rather than results trending towards performances, performances begin to trend towards results. Key players could still return to peak condition.

• Ollie Watkins may begin to adding to his goal tally.
• Jadon Sancho could transform into the player he was during his peak.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are set to regain fitness, bolstering a periodically leaky defensive unit.

This could contain the possibility of a genuine bid, but they surely cannot keep relying on a single individual.

Enjoying the Ride

However, this was unforeseen. Nobody thought the team would be in a Champions League place in December. And without a doubt earlier this season, no one envisioned the midfielder as the year closed would be leading a championship pursuit and appearing as a vital player for the national team.

The current run should be enjoyed for the very reason that it seems so surreal. As the match-winner faced the home supporters after the match conducting the cheers, it was clear to be relishing every moment. As he deserves to. Such periods are uncommon in the sport and ought to be celebrated.