Two moments of Morgan Rogers brilliance inspired Aston Villa to a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Rogers opened the scoring in the 45th minute with a beautiful, curling effort into the far corner, only to see the goal cancelled out by Matheus Cunha three minutes later.
However, 12 minutes after the restart, Rogers restored Villa’s lead with a goal similar in almost every way to his first, giving the hosts a lead they would ultimately hold on to.
Villa have now won 10 straight games across all competitions and 16 of their last 18, sitting third in the Premier League table — just three points behind leaders Arsenal. United, meanwhile, have seen their four-game unbeaten streak come to an end and remain stuck in seventh.
Morgan Rogers makes biggest England claim yet
The battle to claim one of the starting places in Thomas Tuchel’s England team at next summer’s World Cup is heating up, but in no position is it hotter than attacking midfield.
Jude Bellingham is the big name only just rediscovering his best form after injury. Phil Foden, meanwhile, is enjoying a resurgent 2025/26. And that’s not forgetting Cole Palmer — who scored in the Euro 2024 final — or Eberechi Eze.
However, nobody is having a bigger say right now than Morgan Rogers.
The 23-year-old went into this match with two goals and an assist to his name in the four Premier League outings since the last international break. However, those numbers barely scratch the surface regarding his importance to this Aston Villa team. He makes them tick, pulls out spectacular moments, and acts as a talismanic figure right when his teammates need him.
Rogers displayed all of those qualities and more on Sunday as he singlehandedly decided this clash against Man Utd.
The two goals were truly breathtaking and eerily similar in their nature, with Rogers twice isolating Leny Yoro one-on-one after some lacklustre Man Utd defending, before despatching curling, right-footed efforts into the far corner of Senne Lammens’ net.
But again, that was just the tip of the iceberg for Rogers, who also hit the woodwork once as he attempted seven shots, while three of his 13 passes completed were into the final third to show quality over quantity.
Rogers will have more ‘active’ games than this on a minute-by-minute basis. But the key is that he comes up with the goods in the biggest moments. What more could you ask for at a World Cup?
- Morgan Rogers is now level with Phil Foden, Danny Welbeck and Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the highest scoring Englishmen in the Premier League this season with seven goals.
Disjointed Man Utd suffer another squad blow
Man Utd’s squad is being stretched thin at the moment, and it’s really showing.
The Red Devils went into this match without six first-team players due to a mixture of injury, suspension and the Africa Cup of Nations. And disaster struck toward the end of the first half as Bruno Fernandes tweaked his hamstring and was forced off at the break. The same Bruno Fernandes with five goals and seven assists in the Premier League this season.
Ruben Amorim had to introduce centre-back Lisandro Martinez into midfield, while teenagers Jack Fletcher and Shane Lacey also made their senior debuts for the club from the bench.
In defence, Luke Shaw was the only player in United’s back three over the age of 20 or with more than 50 games for Man Utd under his belt.
And out of the young duo next to him, it was surprisingly Ayden Heaven who held his own the best, making seven clearances, two blocks, two tackles — including a last-man tackle — and an interception, while winning four of his five aerial duels. The 19-year-old made a number of interventions to thwart Villa attacks that looked certain to yield a shot on goal.
By contrast, Yoro was twice beaten by Rogers for the Aston Villa goals, while he also kept the England man onside in the build-up to the first by failing to get up with his defensive line quickly enough.
Amorim is being forced to chop and change at an alarming rate, and while this was by no means a bad performance under the circumstances or against one of the Premier League’s form teams right now, there were all the hallmarks of a team disjointed, lacking fluidity and in need of a January boost.