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A mere two months prior when the Villa attacker stood on the Stadium of Light pitch, looking confused as his coach scolded him over not reading a pass in behind. During that period, as Villa went six without a win, doubts remained if his performances were an indicator or the reason of Villa's more general malaise.

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

On Sunday, in contrast, the manager's outburst was entirely much more joyous. When the in-form star curled home his second strike to restore his side's advantage, Emery discarded his winter coat, spread his arms and bellowed. Villa continued to a 10th successive win and despite not winning any of their first six fixtures, find themselves a mere three points adrift of pace-setters Arsenal.

Is This Team Legitimate Hopefuls?

It remains an exceptionally difficult proposition to answer. Past precedent, a general sense of the club, suggests not. Furthermore, their performances haven't been completely commanding this season, even as the positive results have stacked up.

According to Opta, on just two occasions have Villa registered an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than the other team. For a club who have put together ten consecutive victories, they seem weirdly vulnerable – but at the moment the fine lines are going in their favour.

The Winning Formula

Their recent policy seems to be to exchange chances with an opponent and then rely on their talisman to rescue them with some clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it occurred in London, and again versus Manchester United.

His opener came from a superb shot, bent 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 capitalizing on a setup by his strike partner.

“Rogers’ right foot is now akin to Robben’s legendary left: forewarned does not mean forearmed, and stopping him is another matter entirely.”

Can It Last?

Common sense dictates no. In the recent win, the opponents had more shots and more efforts on goal. The team has triumphed in eight consecutive games by just one goal. They’ve conceded in nearly all of those matches.

Regression to the mean might be the most significant challenge they must confront as the season progresses. The forward, almost certainly, cannot keep on thrashing the ball into the net's top corner forever.

Reasons for Optimism

Could it be another reality in which, instead of luck running out, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Vital cogs could still find their top level.

• The centre-forward could start adding to his goal tally.
• The winger could transform into the player he showed in Germany.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to return from injury, fortifying an occasionally vulnerable defence.

This could contain the possibility of a title challenge, however, it is improbable can persist in leaning entirely on a single individual.

Savoring the Moment

But then, nobody expected this. Nobody thought Villa would be in a Champions League place in December. And most definitely two months ago, few could imagine Rogers as the year closed would be leading a hunt for the title while establishing himself as a crucial Three Lions star.

The current run must be cherished exactly since it feels so unlikely. As the hero faced the North End at the final whistle orchestrating the applause, he seemed to be relishing every moment. As he deserves to. These runs of form are rare in football and must be appreciated.