Aston Villa moved up to seventh in the Premier League table by beating the team that were ahead of them - Brighton & Hove Albion - 3-0 away from home on Wednesday night.
The Villans, in a match that lasted over 100 minutes, secured all three points in emphatic fashion, thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio, and Donyel Malen, who all joined the claret and blue army in the January transfer window.
There were many impressive performers for Unai Emery's side throughout the match at the AMEX, including the player who scored the opening goal on the night - Rashford.
Why Marcus Rashford's performance was vital for Aston Villa
The England international, who is on loan from Macnhester United until the end of the season, was the player to make it 1-0 for Villa with his terrific run in behind the Brighton defence.
He made a great movement off the shoulder of the last defender to race clear through on goal and the finish matched the run as the speedster brilliantly lifted the ball into the back of the net to give Villa the lead.
marcus-rashford-aston-villa-premier-league
The 27-year-old attacker's goal broke the deadlock and allowed the away side to play with more freedom, having taken the lead, which teed up the rest of the performance for Villa to go on and win with ease, which is why his display and goal were so vital for Emery's team.
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There was a Villans star, however, who was even more important to the result, as Morgan Rogers proved that he is the main man for Villa with another sublime showing.
Why Morgan Rogers is the main man for Aston Villa
Emery has a host of brilliant attacking talents at his disposal, including the likes of Rashford, Asensio, and Ollie Watkins, but it is the former Manchester City man who runs the team with his performances.
Morgan-Rogers-Aston-Villa
As the attacking midfielder tasked with carrying the ball through the thirds, Rogers is crucial to everything that Villa do in possession and is now closing in on 20 goal contributions for the season, with 12 goals and seven assists in all competitions.
The 22-year-old dynamo, who was handed a player rating of 8/10 by BirminghamLive, added another two assists to his tally in the win over Brighton, playing a phenomenal long-range ball to Rashford for the opener, and racing down the flank to provide a perfect cut-back for Asensio to make it 2-0.
Vs Brighton (A) Rogers Rashford
Minutes 88 65
Goals 0 1
Big chances created 2 0
Assists 2 0
Duels won 6/12 0/2
Tackles + interceptions 7 1
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the English whiz outperformed Rashford with his contributions to the side in and out of possession throughout the game, which shows that he offered more to the team overall.
Rogers, who was compared to Jude Bellingham on Sky Sports earlier this season, has proven himself to the main man time and time again for the Villans, as he has started all 29 of his appearances in the Premier League, whilst Watkins has been a substitute on five occasions.
Illustrating his all-round quality, Rogers is the only player in the squad who ranks within the top five for shots, dribbles, key passes, and fouls won per game, which speaks to how much of an influence he has on matches on the ball.
The Villa star can impact games with his energy out of possession, by winning tackles and duels, whilst also providing a threat as a scorer and a creator of goals, which makes him the full package for Emery and the manager's main man on the pitch in the top-flight.
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