Leeds United 1-2 Aston Villa: Rogers' sensational double completes comeback
Aston Villa made it six wins from seven Premier League games as they downed Leeds United, helped by Morgan Rogers' individual brilliance.
Morgan Rogers helped continue Aston Villa's Premier League revival as his second-half brace guided Unai Emery's team to a 2-1 comeback win over Leeds United.
Rogers' neat flick three minutes after the restart cancelled out Lukas Nmecha's opener, before the England international crashed home a stunning free-kick in the 75th minute.
Villa's Elland Road comeback propelled them up to fourth in the table having won six of their last seven top-flight outings, but they were made to work for their victory.
An electric start by Leeds was rewarded in the eighth minute when Nmecha bundled the ball over the line, despite Emiliano Martinez believing he was fouled in the build-up.
Brenden Aaronson then rippled the side netting from Jayden Bogle's cross as Leeds hunted a second goal, with Emery turning to his bench at the break.
Half-time substitute Donyell Malen made an immediate impact on proceedings, with his delivery into the box brilliantly flicked into the bottom-left corner by Rogers in the 48th minute.
Villa's improved display following the restart saw the quiet Ollie Watkins force Lucas Perri into a smart stop, but another alteration played a crucial role in the winning goal.
Ross Barkley was upended by Pascal Struijk, allowing Rogers the opportunity to step up and plant a sensational free-kick into the net, but Villa were kept on their toes late on.
Attempting to atone for his earlier error, Struijk met Sean Longstaff's teasing set-piece with a powerful header, but Martinez was on hand to repel the effort and seal the victory.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin also thought he had equalised just two minutes after Rogers' second goal, but after a VAR check, it was ruled he had turned Dan James' cross-shot home with his hand.
Data Debrief: Rogers delivers after extending Villa stay
During the final international break of 2025, Villa confirmed that Rogers had extended his stay with the club until 2031.
Despite an underwhelming start to the campaign, only scoring one Premier League goal ahead of Sunday's match, the midfielder proved here why he was deserving of his new deal.
With his brace, Rogers became just the second Villa player to score twice at Elland Road in the Premier League after Gareth Southgate in January 2000, while since his Premier League debut, only Cole Palmer (44) and Bukayo Saka (28) have been involved in more goals in the competition aged 23 and under than Rogers (27 – 14 goals, 13 assists).
Rogers' moments of individual brilliance got Villa over the line in a tricky contest, having only registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.21 from their 14 shots to Leeds' 1.55 from their 15 attempts.
