Morgan Rogers ‘devastating’ as Andy Townsend loses mind over Aston Villa star v Bologna
Morgan Rogers justified Andy Townsend’s pleas for Thomas Tuchel up for England after his display in Aston Villa v Bologna on Tuesday (22 October).
Speaking on TalkSPORT (22 October, 8:51pm) with the game still 0-0, the ex-Villa captain was delighted with Rogers’ first-half display at Villa Park and said he would now be impossible for Tuchel to ignore.
After John McGinn put Villa 1-0 up early in the second half, Rogers, who had four shots himself to no avail, crossed nine minutes later for Jhon Duran, who doubled the hosts’ lead to seal an historic 2-0 win.
Townsend said: “If (Rogers) starts knocking those chances into the net, there is no way Thomas Tuchel will be able to ignore him.
“Devastating, he really is.”
Morgan Rogers rocks Aston Villa in devastating Bologna display
Rogers was the creative hub of almost everything good about Villa’s overall performance in a deserved win over Bologna, with his assist for Duran’s clincher making up for his own misfiring in front of goal.
The 22-year-old completing 82 per cent of his 34 passes [FotMob], eight of which came in the final third, with Rogers laying on four chances in the process as well as firing goalwards four times himself.
A combined expected goals and assists value of 0.57 saw Rogers produce constant problems for the Serie A side, with his 33 per cent shot accuracy arguably the only blemish on his performance.
That’s outweighed massively by every other aspect of Rogers’ game, with eight of his 60 touches coming in Bologna’s box and 64 per cent of his attempted dribbles being successful [FotMob].
Rogers also found a man with his only attempted long ball, winning 10 duels overall and nine on the ground, as well as chipping in with two defensive actions and four ball recoveries.
With Villa sitting pretty at the summit of the Champions League’s new league stage, and Rogers leading from the front, it’s surely only a matter of time before an England call-up beckons.
Tuchel is set to take the Three Lions’ reins in 2025, and if his first move was to bring Rogers into the fold, few Villa or England plans would be able to argue with the decision.
In other Aston Villa news, Chris Heck is facing calls for the sack from fans after his role in a behind-the-scenes debacle at Villa Park.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channelfor instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.