We look at the England midfielder’s growing influence and what it means for his club
Football writer Adrian Clarke identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 17.
Player analysis: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
It is less than three months since an out-of-sorts Morgan Rogers was jeered by a section of his own supporters, but ahead of Sunday’s home encounter with Manchester United, the Aston Villa star is now on fire, driving his team towards an unexpected title challenge.
In the first five matchdays of 2025/26, Rogers struggled to find his best form, but this was in keeping with Unai Emery’s team as a whole. Villa failed to score a single goal until their fifth game, when Matty Cash netted in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland.
Rogers looked a shadow of the attacking midfielder who had been crowned PFA Young Player of the Year, and appeared to lack his usual energy, strength and quality on the ball.
He produced only four attempts on goal in the opening five matches, with just two hitting the target.
Rogers’ shot map MW1-5
During Villa’s 1-0 UEFA Europa League win against Bologna in late September, Rogers completed just 10 of 24 passes on the night, with some frustrated Villa fans even sarcastically cheering him when he found a team-mate.
That low proved to be a turning point for the 23-year-old and he has responded with a string of highly influential performances since.
Responding to the criticism his star turn faced that evening, head coach Emery hinted that it would help him grow in the long term.
“Morgan is young and needs time for experiences,” said Emery. “I kept him on the field because I wanted to see his reaction, how he was accepting everything. He didn’t play well and wasn’t clinical in the attacking third, but I wanted to keep him on.
“He needs to take experiences [like] today, not playing every game well, the crowd not being happy with him. It’s [about] getting his experiences and growing up through it.”
Has less possession helped Villa?
From a tactical perspective, there was not a lot of difference from Villa’s normal set up during that poor start.
Emery lined his team up in a familiar 4-2-3-1, with largely the same personnel they have had during a stunning run that has seen Villa win 10 of their last 11 Premier League matches.
The big difference was perhaps the fact they were facing opponents who sacrificed possession to remain in a compact low block against them.
Villa had just 76.4 per cent of the ball in a 1-0 defeat at Brentford, while they boasted a 71.4 per cent share when they drew 1-1 at Sunderland.
Their average of 59.56 per cent possession across the first five games is not as high as it might have been either, since they played with 10 men against Newcastle United for a long period on the opening weekend.
Villa’s average possession comparison 25/26
| Aston Villa | MW1-5 | MW6-16 |
| % Average possession | 59.56% | 50.02% |
|---|
From MW6 onwards, Emery’s men have not exceeded 60 per cent of possession in a single game, with their average dramatically lowered.
Indeed, in six of their last 11 fixtures, they have the minority share of the ball.
With so many powerful, athletic runners looking to drive into space, like Rogers himself, those types of matches play to Villa’s strengths.
They thrive when turning the ball over and attacking at speed, rather than showing patience inside the final third.
Rogers the risk-taker
Wherever Emery uses Rogers, he will always try new things.
He has attempted the most through balls (11), completed the highest number of dribbles (22) and registered a team-high 12 shots on target, by playing with adventure.
Yet he also loses possession more often than anyone else at Villa, giving the ball away while attempting to hurt rival teams.
This can cause some frustration, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Most possession lost by Villa players 25/26
| Player | Times possession lost |
| Morgan Rogers | 255 |
|---|---|
| Matty Cash | 206 |
| John McGinn | 179 |
| Lucas Digne | 157 |
| Ollie Watkins | 120 |
Crowding Rogers’ space and forcing him to work in tight areas is perhaps the best method for opposing sides to limit his influence.
We saw lots of that in the opening weeks, but Villa’s improved form, playing a more transitional style of play, has helped to create that space he craves so much.
Finding full fitness
Rogers did pick up an ankle injury in a pre-season friendly against Roma, and the after-effects of that knock may have hindered him early in the campaign.
He was noticeably less mobile during that winless run, and the data tells us he was indeed running shorter distances, with less intensity.
Since Villa’s 3-1 win against Fulham on 28 September, when Rogers created his first assist of the season, his power and athleticism have come to the fore.
Rogers’ PL sprint/distance improvement 25/26
| Premier League per 90 | MW1-5 | MW6-16 |
| Sprints | 13.6 | 15.4 |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 10.7km | 11.1km |
Stunning shots
Rogers’ shot count has soared in recent months.
Pushing himself to get into goalscoring positions, his output has been fantastic since MW6, as shown in the graphic below.
Finding the target when he cuts inside to shoot from the left side of the penalty area has been an issue though (see below, grey circles) so further practice on those shots is required!
Rogers’ shot map MW6-16
Developing a fantastic new shooting technique has made a tremendous difference to Rogers, and Villa’s results.
He has fizzed dipping side-foot, top-spin strikes into the corner on three separate occasions.
The technique for his goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United, and his second strike at West Ham United, show how hard Rogers has worked on the training ground.
Watch: Rogers’ two goals against West Ham
The numbers behind Rogers’ revival
We often talk about footballers finding an extra five to 10 per cent to fulfil their potential, and it feels as if Rogers has done that across the last two-and-a-half months.
He has made across-the-board improvements by finding those small marginal gains in almost every aspect of his attacking endeavours since MW6.
This has helped him score five goals, while creating three assists.
Rogers’ improving attacking influence 25/26
| PL per 90 | MW1-5 | MW6-16 |
| Total shots (inc. blocks) | 0.8 | 1.8 |
|---|---|---|
| Expected Goals | 0.05 | 0.13 |
| Chances created (inc. assists) | 0.81 | 1.1 |
| Touches in opp. box | 3.5 | 4.1 |
| Touches | 41.3 | 46.1 |
| Duels won | 3.5 | 4.7 |
| Succ. passes ending in final third | 7.9 | 8.4 |
| Passing accuracy | 69.7 | 75.0 |
| Dribbles completed | 1.2 | 1.5 |
Rogers needs to be untamed
With the World Cup on the horizon, this is a hugely important campaign for Rogers, who would love to cement his place as Thomas Tuchel’s starting No 10 for England.
With competition from Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, he knows his standards must remain sky-high.
Emery is flexible in his use of Rogers, starting him seven times on the left, twice as part of a front two, and seven times in that central No 10 slot.
Wherever you use Rogers though, he is most effective when given license to roam, popping up in different areas to utilise his power and pace.
Below are the passes received by Rogers since MW6, and it tells the story of a player who needs freedom to be at his very best.
Rogers’ passes received MW6-16
He will drop deep, run in behind, find pockets between the lines, and pull out wide.
This is what makes Rogers such a difficult attacking midfielder for rival defenders to contain for 90 minutes.
If his current form continues, Rogers certainly has potential to drive Villa towards a very special campaign.
He is their talisman, which is why his own form has mirrored that of the side.
The lesson is clear; if Emery gets the best out of Rogers, his team have a better chance of getting positive results.
