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A mere 60 days prior when the Villa attacker stood on the pitch at Sunderland, seeming perplexed while Unai Emery admonished him for missing a through-ball. Back then, with the team went six without a win, doubts remained if his displays were a sign or a cause of the side'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 was decidedly more positive. When Rogers drilled in his second to reinstate the lead for Villa, the Spanish tactician discarded his jacket, opened his arms and bellowed. The team continued to a 10th successive win and having failed to win any of their first six matches, find themselves just three points off table-toppers Arsenal.

Are They Legitimate Challengers?

This is an exceptionally difficult proposition to answer. The historical record, the traditional standing of the club, argues against it. Additionally, they've rarely been wholly dominant this season, even as the positive results have stacked up.

According to Opta, in only two games has the team registered an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than the opposition. For a side that have just won a ten-match winning streak, they appear strangely fragile – yet right now the tight outcomes are falling their way.

The Rogers Recipe

The current approach seems to be to exchange chances with the opposition and wait for their star man to rescue them with two clinical strikes. This occurred against Leeds, it occurred at West Ham, and again when facing the Red Devils.

The initial strike stemmed from an exquisite effort, arced right inside the goal frame from the corner of the box. His brace-completing goal acted as a slightly less clean iteration of the opener as he seized 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?

Logic says not. In the recent win, the opponents registered more efforts and more efforts on goal. Villa have triumphed in eight consecutive games by the narrowest of margins. The defence has been breached in all except one of those games.

A reversion to average could be the greatest opponent Villa must confront over the coming weeks. Rogers, in all likelihood, will not continue to thrashing his shots into the net's top corner indefinitely.

Potential for Growth

Could it be a different scenario whereby, instead of luck running out, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Vital cogs could still return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward might resume scoring again.
• The winger may rediscover the performer he showed in Germany.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres will eventually return from injury, fortifying a periodically leaky defensive unit.

This could contain the seeds for a sustained push, but they surely can persist in leaning entirely on a single individual.

Enjoying the Ride

However, this was unforeseen. Nobody thought the team would occupy in the top three for the holidays. And certainly two months ago, no one envisioned Rogers now would be at the forefront of a title charge and appearing as a vital player for the national team.

The current run must be cherished precisely because it feels so unlikely. When the match-winner faced the Villa faithful after the match conducting the cheers, it was clear to be relishing every moment. Which he fully merits. Such periods do not happen often and must be appreciated.