The Astonishing Golden Spell Fuels Aston Villa's Unlikely Title Charge

It was 60 days ago that the Villa attacker found himself on the Sunderland turf, seeming perplexed while the Villa manager berated him over failing to anticipate a pass in behind. At that point, as the club endured a six-game winless run, the question was whether his displays were a sign or the reason of the side's more general malaise.

This weekend, in contrast, the sideline response proved to be much more joyous. When Rogers drilled in his brace-sealing goal to reinstate the lead for Villa, the Spanish tactician discarded his jacket, threw his arms wide and roared. Villa continued to a 10th successive win , after failing to win any of their first six games, now sit only three points adrift of pace-setters Arsenal.

Is Aston Villa Genuine Title Contenders?

This is a rather hard question to resolve. History, the traditional standing of Villa, indicates otherwise. Moreover, they have not been completely commanding in many games, while the victories have stacked up.

As per Opta, in only two games has the team registered an expected goals figure significantly higher than their opponents. For a team which has put together a ten-match winning streak, they appear strangely fragile – however at the moment the margins are falling their way.

The Reliant Strategy

Their recent policy appears to be to trade blows with the opposition and then rely on Rogers to rescue them with some clinical strikes. This occurred at Leeds, it happened against West Ham, and it happened when facing the Red Devils.

Rogers' first goal came from an exquisite effort, curled precisely inside the post from the corner of the box. His brace-completing goal proved to be a somewhat messier replica of goal number one as he seized on a pass from Watkins.

Is It Sustainable?

Reason suggests otherwise. Against United, Manchester United registered more efforts and more efforts on goal. The team has triumphed in eight consecutive games by the narrowest of margins. The defence has been breached in all except one of those matches.

A reversion to average could be the most significant challenge they must confront as the season progresses. The forward, in all likelihood, cannot maintain blasting the football past despairing goalkeepers forever.

Potential for Growth

Perhaps there is a different scenario whereby, instead of luck running out, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Key players might still find their top level.

• Ollie Watkins might resume finding the net regularly.
• The attacking talent may rediscover the force he was in Germany.
• Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres are due to return from injury, bolstering a periodically leaky backline.

Maybe within that lies the seeds of a genuine bid, however, it is improbable can persist in leaning entirely on one man.

Relishing the Unlikely

However, this was unforeseen. Nobody thought the team would be third at Christmas. And most definitely earlier this season, no one envisioned the midfielder by the end of the year would be spearheading a championship pursuit while looking like a crucial player for the national team.

The current run must be cherished precisely because it feels so unlikely. As the match-winner stood in front of the Villa faithful at the final whistle orchestrating the applause, he appeared to be thoroughly enjoying it. As he deserves to. These runs of form are uncommon in the sport and ought to be celebrated.