Aston Villa are back on track, carrying the emotion from their Europa League win into the Premier League and dispatching West Ham United to consolidate their position in the top four.
The truth is that any of the Premier League’s five uppermost positions could secure a seat in the footballing holy land of the Champions League, but Unai Emery will be desperate to eliminate any uncertainty over the next few weeks.
Sunday’s result saw Villa extend their lead in fourth place to five points, with Liverpool and Chelsea both losing on Saturday. With a Europa League quarter-finals tie set up with Bologna, this was a crucial weekend indeed.
Emery will need to see grit from his team, but he’ll also need his superstars to play their best football, and against the Hammers, Morgan Rogers proved that he’s clicking back into gear.
Morgan Rogers is Villa’s new talisman
When Aston Villa sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for a record-breaking nine-digit figure in 2021, it felt like the club had lost the best player they would see for many years.
They only had to wait a couple. Rogers has emerged as not only Villa Park’s star attacker but one of the most dangerous attacking midfielders across Europe, notching 24 goals and 23 assists since the start of last season.
Against West Ham, he didn’t quite steal the show, but he was a veritable livewire against a side who were desperate to put some points on the board. Across 77 minutes of action, the Three Lions star created four chances and completed 12 carries, though his shooting left something to be desired.
|
Aston Villa: Most G/A under Emery |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Apps |
Goals + Assists |
|
Ollie Watkins |
176 |
68 + 36 |
|
Morgan Rogers |
114 |
27 + 24 |
|
John McGinn |
157 |
21 + 21 |
|
Leon Bailey |
125 |
19 + 21 |
|
Douglas Luiz |
91 |
16 + 16 |
Even so, Rogers has been raking in the goal involvements under Emery’s wing, but even so, he’s not quite the most important part of the Spaniard’s system, with another Lions star having emerged as the new version of Grealish.
Emery has hit gold on the new Grealish
Aston Villa have come a long way under Emery’s management, and while flashy players like Rogers often steal the headlines, the industrious John McGinn has arguably been the most important player throughout this shining era in the Midlands.
McGinn, 31, is Aston Villa’s captain and a tireless bundle of energy, proving to be one of the biggest jackpot signings of recent times in England. After joining from Hibernian in 2018, he has seen the highs and the lows at Villa Park, 318 appearances down.
Typically a robust central midfielder, the Scotland international’s dynamism and physiality lends itself to roles out wide, but even so, he’s not akin to Grealish from a tactical standpoint.
However, McGinn does boast leadership skills and a connection to the fanbase that might even eclipse that of the homegrown superstar. He is an adopted son, but he has been the definitive outlet throughout this propserous period in Emery’s system.
He scored against LOSC Lille in the Europa League on Thursday evening, and then he bagged a beauty in the Premier League to help get his side back into the win column on the domestic front, crucially easing away from their qualification rivals.
McGinn might have the stamina of a marathon runner, but he’s aware of his sporting mortality, and that his time as a mainstay under the Villa Park lights won’t go on forever.
However, he uses that awareness as fuel, as a reason to keep on driving forward and tackle the obstacles in front of him until eventually he hits silverware.
Such an ambition may well be realised this season, but whatever happens on that front, McGinn is an Aston Villa legend, captaining the club through their richest modern period. In a way, he has already eclipsed Grealish.
After West Ham: Aston Villa star may never start for the club again
Aston Villa strolled to a 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.