Morgan Rogers plays and plays and plays – even with PSG decider on the horizon

As Unai Emery reeled through a list of possible absentees, it was hardly surprising that Morgan Rogers’ name was not mentioned.

The day before this weekend’s Premier League trip to already-relegated Southampton, Emery responded to a question regarding Aston Villa’s depth and why competition for places invariably means greater rotation.

“To have (John) McGinn on the bench now is a possibility,” he began. “To have Jacob Ramsey on the bench now is a possibility. To have Ollie Watkins on the bench is a possibility.”

Emery says his players must accept they will not be used in every game, yet the same notion does not apparently apply to Rogers.

Along with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and fellow midfielder Youri Tielemans, the 22-year-old forms part of an unshakeable trio of essential starters. Together, they are the only three Villa players to accrue over 2,500 minutes of Premier League game time so far this season and, in the case of Rogers, the one match he was absent for, the 2-1 win against Leicester City in January, was because of suspension.

Emery has made 20 changes to his starting XI in the past three matches but those three have started each time. They each add a key ingredient to Villa’s style: be it Martinez, this team’s chief and biggest presence, Tielemans the tempo-setter or Rogers, the multi-faceted attacker.

Predictably, all three were chosen to start against Southampton on Saturday, despite the fixture being sandwiched between the two legs of a Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.

And even in what was a stilted match played in an increasingly irritable atmosphere, Rogers and Tielemans delivered with an assist each. Critically, both came in a second half where Marco Asensio had missed two penalties and Villa were struggling to open their stride against a home defence who started letting out triumphant roars after winning a header and briefly thought a rare point was on the horizon.

Tielemans’ pass for Watkins to open the scoring on 73 minutes broke Southampton’s spirit before Rogers — having moved centrally after a frustrating first hour playing on the right — received the ball between the lines and set up Donyell Malen to double the lead six minutes later.

There have been times this season when close observers, and Villa themselves, would have preferred for Rogers to play fewer minutes and to come off earlier in matches. But with his team only rarely seeing off opponents before the break, the England international has carried on playing. In the hours following certain games, Rogers has been seen struggling to even walk, such has been his tiredness and the level of work he gets through.

Villa, however, have been mindful. Rogers has been granted days off to help him recover and before he received a senior England call-up in September, Emery was publicly critical of his selection for England Under-21s.

Rogers is incredibly robust and has the talent to match. His opening goal in last week’s first leg against PSG was his most high-profile so far and came on the type of grand stage where he will likely remain for the rest of his career. It was the sixth goal he has been directly involved in during Villa’s Champions League campaign.

Signed from Middlesbrough of the Championship in last season’s January transfer window, Rogers has already attracted several suitors but is viewed as Villa’s biggest asset and signed a new contract until 2030 in November.

The attacking midfielder and Emery share a profound enthusiasm for watching football, with Rogers a keen admirer of Germany’s Bundesliga and La Liga in Spain. While their relationship can be frank and Emery can be tough on him, it is all done with a purpose: Rogers maximising his boundless potential.

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For over an hour at the St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday, Rogers characterised Villa’s simmering annoyance as they were unable to break down a rudimentary Southampton who, under interim management after sacking Ivan Juric last week once their relegation was confirmed, sat deep, took their time with restarts, and got the ball forward quickly. They were aggressive and attempted to rattle Villa’s players, with Rogers a particular target.

Home supporters started singing, “He’s going to cry in a minute” at the end of the first half after Rogers protested in disbelief at being denied a corner. Southampton captain Jack Stephens marked him tightly and pulled at his shirt, with Rogers once more questioning referee Thomas Bramall’s decisions.

With Asensio returning to the No 10 position, Rogers was deployed on the right and received the ball in wide, non-threatening areas. He had few opportunities to drift centrally and demonstrate his unique ball-carrying ability.

In that aspect, Rogers has learned from his captain McGinn in using his body intelligently under pressure. Rogers is naturally bigger than your average player but felt there was scope for improvement in shimmying out of danger and being more evasive against compact teams.

Emery introduced two attackers, Watkins and Malen, in the 66th minute, yet there was little danger that Rogers would be one of those to make way. Rather, Emery shifted him to the left — a position better suited for him to move inside and closer to his most productive areas.

This ultimately materialised for Malen’s goal, with Rogers’ assist his seventh in the league this season, moving him ahead of Watkins and Tielemans as Villa’s leading creator. Similarly, no Villa player has received as many passes in high areas, with Emery constructing a build-up style designed to funnel the ball past the opponents’ midfield and in to Rogers.

Malen ran between Southampton’s left centre-back and left-back, while Watkins made the same precise movement the same from the other side. Rogers, however, has made significant strides in his end product and after taking the ball on the half-turn, he made the right decision to pass to Malen with his supposedly weaker left foot, who shot hard and low past Aaron Ramsdale. 

Unsurprisingly, this proved to be Rogers’ final tangible action of the game.

Having been burnt once away at Tottenham Hotspur in November — taking Rogers off with the scores level at 1-1 on 69 minutes only for Villa to collapse to a 4-1 defeat — Emery only now removes him when he is totally comfortable in doing so. Villa’s second goal against Southampton provided such serenity.

Asensio was responsible for a second penalty miss in stoppage time but McGinn, Rogers’ 85th-minute replacement and, in some ways, mentor, stole in to bury the rebound. It was far from ideal for Rogers and Tielemans, who did the full 90, to have played as long as they did, considering Villa will begin their bid to overturn PSG’s 3-1 lead on Tuesday little more than 72 hours after this match finished, but, as Emery reaffirmed afterwards, doing as well as possible in the Premier League remains his priority.

“It is not easy to play at the level we demand in matches in a row without being injured,” said Emery. “Youri and Morgan are being very important and consistent. I am always analysing if we can take some minutes to rest them, but until now, they are playing with the demands we need.”

Villa are peaking at the right time but have been held together by their spine of Martinez, Tielemans and Rogers — this season’s standout performers and the trusted trio who keep on playing no matter what tests lie in wait.

(Top photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)