Aston Villa vs Man Utd: How Morgan Rogers became the driving force of Emery's Villa machine

 

From the Championship to the Champions League in nine months, Morgan Rogers’ 2024 has likely surpassed even his wildest dreams. After signing for Aston Villa last winter from Middlesbrough for an initial £8m, he’s started 21 games in the Premier League and Europe, a tally that includes Villa’s famous 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday. 

 

He was typically excellent on the night, playing at the sort of bruising, rumbustious pace that has now become a signature, a standard, of his. He takes the ball, turns and just runs - and it takes a full team effort from the opposition to stop him. 

 

 

Against Bayern, he completed the most dribbles (5) of anyone on the pitch and drew two fouls against a ferocious press. Die Roten swarmed him, doubled him, but largely failed to contain him and on a couple of occasions had no choice but to simply haul him down. 

 

Manager Vincent Kompany watched on with a knowing grimace. He and Rogers crossed paths at Manchester City, and although his time away from the Etihad Stadium has been the true making of the player we now see, the talent was clear from a very early age. 

 

That talent is a prerequisite to make the remarkable leap Rogers has this year, but just as important is finding the right manager to guide you. In Unai Emery, he has undoubtedly found that. 

 

"Luckily, I found a manager who trusted me and believed in me," he told TNT Sports after the Bayern victory. "He took me under his wing and tried to improve me and I’m only getting better and better. It’s all thanks to him [Emery]." 

 

 

That trust and belief is fuelling a remarkable first full campaign at the top level. With an excellent pre-season banked, Rogers came into the 2024/25 season fit, firing and ready to go. From the moment the first whistle went back in August, he’s been nothing short of electric when running the ball, punishing any and all would-be tacklers. Most notably, he cleaved through Arsenal’s midfield and left Declan Rice on the floor, and has now added Konrad Laimer and Joshua Kimmich to his list of victims. 

 

He tops the team for successful take-ons (12), carries into the final third (12) and, intriguingly, shot-creating actions (21). It speaks to his incredible impact that Youri Tielemans, the team’s heartbeat in possession and chief set piece taker, trails him in that category with 18. 

 

That said, Rogers will rightly feel he’s left goals and assists on the table so far this season; he is still developing, his game still being refined and he will be the first to acknowledge that. It was curious to hear him say Emery’s number one gripe with him is that he thinks he passes too early, suggesting he wants the long, winding runs to go on even longer, and there are moments where his technical game looks a little rough around the edges - something the statistics bear out. 

 

 

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No Villa player has lost the ball due to a miscontrol (16) or been dispossessed (13) more times than Rogers. Make no mistake, losing the ball is a natural part of being a dribbler, a ball carrier or even just an attacker, but those numbers could happily come down. That’s the flip side to the Morgan Rogers coin, but Villa are happy to take the rough with the smooth as he grows. 

 

The 22-year-old has started every game for Villa this season bar the Carabao Cup win over Wycombe Wanderers, and after putting in a Herculean effort against Bayern, Emery might ordinarily be tempted to rest him for the next game. But this weekend sees the visit of Manchester United to Villa Park, an enticing tactical matchup that suits Rogers so favourably, he’ll surely be unleashed once more. 

 

After all, Emery will be imagining the damage Rogers can do in those open spaces Manchester United’s setup leaves and hoping the recent decisive touch to his game, which has resulted in a goal and two assists in his last two Premier League outings, continues for another week.

Aston Villa vs Man Utd: How Morgan Rogers became the driving force of Emery's Villa machine