Morgan Rogers doubled Aston Villa's lead against Man City
Morgan Rogers doubled Aston Villa's lead against Man City
Morgan Rogers believes Aston Villa still have another gear to go into after beating Premier League champions Man City 2-1 at Villa Park.
The 22-year-old registered an assist as Jhon Duran opened the scoring in the 16th minute, before he then doubled the lead just after the hour mark. Rogers claims that while Villa have proven they’re capable of beating with the best, they still need to find consistency to remain competitive at the top.
“There's no better winning feeling than at home back in front of our fans against probably the best team in the world,” Rogers said. “We showed that we can compete with anyone on our day. It also shows we have to be more consistent because we have proved we can produce performances like that. We need to look at this game and show each other that we can do this and be more consistent on a regular basis.
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"I thoroughly enjoyed that and was happy to play my part. I thought every person did their job to maximum capacity and that's why you beat teams like this. Everyone has to be at it and on it - and we were."
Rogers: “We [previously] came up against good teams at the wrong time. We weren't playing great and we were coming up against teams like Chelsea who were really firing. That was a difficult afternoon when you have to look at yourself in the mirror and think about what you could have done better.
"But that's part of football, it's what happens. You go through ups and downs and you try to have more ups than downs. We looked at ourselves and we went back to basics on the training pitch. The manager still had our back and we truly focused. He gave us the same confidence and belief he shows in us before every game and we turned it around.
"The pleasing thing is we know we still have another gear we can go into - we need to add consistency now. The important thing is we know we can do that. We have a bunch of players that want to do it, are willing to do it and crucially, believe we will do it. That's the most important thing.
“We have been a bit inconsistent at times, which we don’t like. But when we have looked at the fixtures we’ve had here, we’ve actually been good at home. We’ve only lost one. We want to keep that going and for it to be difficult for teams to come here. No matter who they are, we want it to be difficult.
“I think the biggest thing for me is not getting too frustrated. The games we were losing, I was losing the ball. It happens. I was getting too frustrated and too down about it. When I play happy, with a smile on my face and I am playing free, that is when I am at my best. Today I had the smile on my face, that energy, that real enthusiasm to do well. That is probably why I played better than I have done in recent weeks. I am happy to be part of the team and to win the game, most importantly.”
Villa's 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest last weekend was their seventh game in the space of three weeks. After being knocked out of the Carabao Cup round of 16 by Crystal Palace at the end of last month, Villa had no game in midweek before facing City.
"At times you just want a break and the chance to relax," Rogers said. "It was nice to work on a game plan again. It's been hard at times because we've spent more time studying videos and watching stuff, as opposed to actually being on the training pitch working on it. To have a full week to prepare for this game was nice. But we know the fixture schedule is not that kind to us every week so we'll have to learn to manage it and do what's best for the team. We need to try and improve when we get back to normal again.
"Bravery was the big one today - just to be brave with the ball and show what we are all about. They are a good pressing team who are good on the ball, we all know that. But we are good on the ball too and we are brave in possession. We want to play football the same way that they do. Why can't we? Especially in the second half there were times when we dominated them and imposed ourselves on them. We felt on top and they couldn't get out.
"It might not look like it from the outside. But when you are in it - and you have 11 men on the pitch and you feel that togetherness and know you're all in it together - that speaks volumes. It helps us push on and compete and get the better of our opponent. We felt that, especially in the second half, when we were on top. We felt that energy and more importantly the crowd felt it too. That was the most important thing and why we got over the line to win the game."
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