Aston Villa maverick Morgan Rogers would have been surprised by the ease which he he was able to dismantle Tottenham Hotspur time and again in the hosts’ 2-1 victory in the FA Cup.
Rogers’ display against Tottenham garnered praise as he grabbed a goal and an assist in yet another effortlessly terrific performance from him.
Unai Emery has encouraged Rogers to take risks and the 22-year-old did just that against Ange Postecoglou’s side, dancing past their midfield with his quick feet, expertly combining with the likes of Jacob Ramsey and Marco Asensio and astutely ghosting into acres of space in the middle of the park.
With his latest exploits, Morgan Rogers has managed to showcase once again that he is a big-game player.
As for Tottenham, the Englishman’s showing was a reminder of why they must make more of an effort to tame the gifted midfielder the next time they face him.
Morgan Rogers calls Tottenham a “top team” despite Aston Villa’s victory
Rogers, labelled an “exceptional player” by Pep Guardiola, however did not imply for even a second that he found it easy to play against Spurs.
On the contrary, the former Manchester City attacker believes Tottenham fought back well in the second half and stated that they are a team who are dangerous on the break.
Rogers discussed Tottenham as a side while reviewing Aston Villa’s triumph via Optus Sport, saying: “I thought we were outstanding first half, offered them very little in their attack and we know how dangerous they can be on transition and so on and so forth so yeah, I thought we did really well first half.”
“Second half, then they came back into it, as you expect, they’re a top team with quality players but I thought we managed it pretty well, good to get the second, probably could have got the third and killed off the game, probably a bit nervous at the end. But that’s us, that’s what we’ve done all season, kind of nervous at the end but good to get the win.”
After the contest, Rogers praised Asensio and Marcus Rashford as well in what was a hugely positive game for Aston Villa. On the other hand, while Ange Postecoglou will not be sacked by Tottenham, the 59-year-old would have been mortified to witness Rogers causing mayhem without even breaking a sweat against his side.
Unai Emery predicts when Tottenham will get back to form
Much like the youngster, even Unai Emery was also respectful of Spurs after the game.
Emery predicted Tottenham to get back to form once their injured players return to full fitness; in turn, lending a show of support towards Ange Postecoglou.
“Of course, when they are going to recover players, they will perform again like they were doing.”
Unai Emery praised Tottenham even before Aston Villa beat them on Sunday, which goes to show how the Lilywhites are viewed within the game.
But for Tottenham to well and truly silence their critics, they will have to do their talking on the pitch in their subsequent run of fixtures.