This Remarkable Golden Spell Propels Villa's Unlikely Championship Bid

It was two months ago that the Villa attacker found himself on the pitch at Sunderland, appearing bewildered while Unai Emery berated him over missing a penetrating pass. At that point, as Villa failed to win in six, doubts remained if his displays were an indicator or the source of the team's broader struggles.

On Sunday, however, the touchline reaction was entirely much more joyous. When the in-form star swept in his brace-sealing goal to reclaim his side's advantage, the boss ripped off his coat, opened his arms and bellowed. Villa continued to a 10th successive win and having failed to win their initial half-dozen fixtures, find themselves a mere three points adrift of the leaders Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Serious Challengers?

That’s a particularly tough proposition to address. History, the traditional standing of this institution, argues against it. Moreover, they have not been wholly dominant in many games, even as the wins have accumulated.

According to Opta, on just two occasions have Villa posted an expected goals figure significantly higher than their opponents. For a club that have strung together 10 in a row, the Villans seem weirdly vulnerable – yet at the moment the tight outcomes are falling their way.

The Reliant Strategy

The current approach appears to be to engage in a shootout with an opponent and then rely on their star man to rescue them with some clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it happened against West Ham, and it happened versus Manchester United.

His opener stemmed from a brilliant finish, arced right inside the goal frame from the corner of the box. The follow-up goal acted as a slightly less clean iteration of the opener as he pounced on a setup by his strike partner.

Is It Sustainable?

Logic says not. Against United, the opposition had more efforts and more direct attempts. Villa have won each of their last eight by the narrowest of margins. The defence has been breached in all except one of those matches.

Regression to the mean might be the most significant challenge they have to face over the coming weeks. The forward, almost certainly, cannot maintain drilling his shots into the net's top corner week in, week out.

Reasons for Optimism

Perhaps there is an alternative path in which, rather than outcomes regressing to match displays, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Vital cogs may yet return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward could start finding the net regularly.
• Jadon Sancho might become the performer he showed during his peak.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to regain fitness, bolstering an occasionally vulnerable backline.

Maybe within that lies the potential for a sustained push, but they surely cannot keep relying on Morgan Rogers.

Savoring the Moment

Yet, this is a surprise. It seemed improbable the team would sit in a Champions League place in December. And certainly earlier this season, few could imagine the midfielder by the end of the year would be spearheading a championship pursuit while looking like a crucial Three Lions star.

This remarkable period must be cherished precisely because it seems so surreal. As Rogers faced the North End after the match conducting the cheers, it was clear to be thoroughly enjoying it. Which he fully merits. These spells do not happen often and must be appreciated.