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A mere two months prior when Morgan Rogers was standing on the Sunderland turf, appearing bewildered while his coach berated him over not reading a through-ball. Back then, with the team endured a six-game winless run, the question was if his displays were a symptom or the reason for the side's broader struggles.

“Following Rogers' second strike… Emery discarded his jacket, extended his arms, and let out a triumphant roar.”

On Sunday, in contrast, the sideline response proved to be decidedly more positive. After the England international curled home his second to reinstate Villa's lead, Emery discarded his jacket, threw his arms wide and shouted in triumph. The Birmingham club marched on to ten wins in a row , after failing to win their opening six games, are somehow a mere three points behind the leaders Arsenal.

Are They Genuine Title Contenders?

That’s a rather hard question to resolve. History, the traditional standing of this institution, indicates otherwise. Furthermore, they've rarely been completely commanding this season, despite the fact the positive results have piled up.

Per the data, on just two occasions have Villa posted an xG more than 0.5 greater than their opponents. For a team who have strung together 10 in a row, the Villans appear strangely fragile – however currently the margins are swinging for them.

The Reliant Strategy

The prevailing tactic looks like to exchange chances with an opponent and wait for their talisman to bail them out with some clinical strikes. This was the case at Leeds, it happened at West Ham, and it happened against the Red Devils.

His opener originated from a brilliant finish, curled right inside the upright from the corner of the box. His brace-completing goal acted as a slightly less clean iteration of his first capitalizing on a setup by his strike partner.

“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.”

How Long Can This Continue?

Logic says not. Against United, Manchester United had more efforts and more shots on target. Villa have won each of their last eight by just one goal. They’ve conceded in all but one of those games.

A reversion to average may well be the greatest opponent Villa have to face in the near future. The forward, in all likelihood, cannot maintain thrashing the ball into the net's top corner week in, week out.

A Case for Belief

Maybe there exists a different scenario in which, instead of results trending towards performances, performances begin to trend towards results. Vital cogs could still return to peak condition.

• The centre-forward may begin to finding the net regularly.
• The winger could transform into the player he resembled at Borussia Dortmund.
• The injured centre-backs are due to return from injury, bolstering a periodically leaky defence.

This could contain the seeds for a sustained push, yet it seems unlikely can continue to depend solely on a single individual.

Enjoying the Ride

Yet, this was unforeseen. Nobody thought the team would sit in the top three for the holidays. And without a doubt earlier this season, no one envisioned the midfielder now would be leading a championship pursuit while establishing himself as a vital Three Lions star.

This remarkable period is to be savoured for the very reason that it feels so unlikely. When the hero positioned himself before the home supporters after the match orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be loving the experience. A feeling he has rightly earned. These runs of form are rare in football and should be relished.