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It was eight weeks prior when Morgan Rogers found himself on the Stadium of Light pitch, looking confused while Unai Emery admonished him over missing a through-ball. Back then, as the club failed to win in six, the question was if Rogers' form were a symptom or a cause for the side's broader struggles.

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

In the latest match, however, the manager's outburst proved to be decidedly more positive. When the in-form star swept in his brace-sealing goal to reinstate his side's advantage, the Spanish tactician discarded his winter coat, spread his arms and roared. The team were on their way to ten wins in a row and despite not winning their initial half-dozen fixtures, find themselves only three points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Serious Title Contenders?

This is an exceptionally difficult question to address. Past precedent, a general sense of the club, argues against it. Furthermore, their performances haven't been completely commanding during this run, even as the positive results have stacked up.

Per Opta, twice all season has the team posted an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than the opposition. For a club which has strung together 10 in a row, they seem weirdly vulnerable – however at the moment the fine lines are going in their favour.

The Reliant Strategy

The prevailing tactic seems to be to trade blows with rivals before hoping Rogers to save the day with some crisp finishes. This was the case away to Leeds, it transpired against West Ham, and again when facing Manchester United.

Rogers' first goal originated from a superb shot, curled precisely inside the goal frame from the edge of the area. The follow-up goal acted as a slightly less clean iteration of the opener as he seized 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?

Reason suggests otherwise. Against United, the opposition had more efforts and more shots on target. They have won each of their last eight by just one goal. They have allowed goals in all but one of those games.

Regression to the mean may well be the greatest opponent the club will encounter over the coming weeks. The forward, surely, cannot keep on blasting the ball into the net's top corner week in, week out.

A Case for Belief

Maybe there exists a different scenario whereby, rather than luck running out, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Vital cogs may yet rediscover their best form.

• The centre-forward may begin to scoring again.
• Jadon Sancho may rediscover the performer he resembled at Borussia Dortmund.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to regain fitness, strengthening an occasionally vulnerable defensive unit.

Maybe within that lies the potential of a genuine bid, but they surely can continue to depend solely on Morgan Rogers.

Enjoying the Ride

But then, nobody expected this. Nobody thought the team would occupy in a Champions League place in December. And without a doubt two months ago, few could imagine the young forward now would be spearheading a title charge and appearing as a crucial Three Lions star.

This winning streak is to be savoured exactly since it feels so unlikely. As the hero faced the North End at the final whistle orchestrating the applause, he seemed to be loving the experience. Which he fully merits. Such periods do not happen often and ought to be celebrated.