Paul Merson loses mind over what he saw Morgan Rogers do in Aston Villa v Bologna
Paul Merson believes Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers “should have scored” in the first half of the 2-0 Champions League win over Bologna on Tuesday night.
Rogers, 22, has been instrumental for Aston Villa this season and has impressed regularly since arriving at the start of the year from Middlesbrough.
Thankfully, his first-half miss in Villa’s Champions League fixture against Bologna proved to be irrelevant as second-half goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran secured victory for Unai Emery’s side.
However, when analyzing the chance, Merson claimed Rogers should have done better with his finish but was blown away by his build-up play.
Speaking on Sky Sports News (20 October, 8:50 pm), Merson said: “Rogers should have scored, brilliant play by him. The ball gets headed out to him, it’s a lovely first touch off to (Leon) Bailey and then he makes a run.
“He gets put in by Bailey, goes around the defender and is one-on-one with the ‘keeper. Should do better.”
Morgan Rogers will be crucial to Aston Villa success
Despite failing to score in Aston Villa’s European campaign so far, Rogers has been pivotal to their outstanding start to the Premier League season.
The 22-year-old has two goals and assists in his eight league appearances and has earned plaudits each week for his ability to drive forward with the ball and cause a threat to the opposition.
Formerly on the books of Manchester City, Rogers’ development since joining Villa has been remarkable and with the winger still only 22 years old, he has many more years of progress to be made.
The talented forward has been tipped to feature for England in the near future and his performances as of late have certainly warranted a future call-up.
Rogers has arguably been Villa’s most influential player and their hopes of having another successful campaign may hinge on not only his ability to stay fit but also the club’s ability to retain his services should any interest surface in the upcoming January transfer window.
In other Aston Villa news, Aston Villa are one of six Premier League clubs that fail to offer adult supporters a replica shirt without a gambling sponsor on it following the regulation change, according to the Mirror.
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