Aston Villa can finally replace Moussa Diaby with £20m star as Morgan Rogers' mindset speaks volumes

BirminghamLive brings you the talking points from Aston Villa's win over Burnley in the Premier League

Aston Villa head into the second international break of the season with four wins on the spin.

The mood around the club is a far cry from just a few weeks ago, when Unai Emery’s side couldn’t buy a goal, let alone a win.

But after beating Burnley 2-1 at Villa Park on Sunday, Villa have not only turned their league form around but also built on the perfect start they’ve enjoyed in the Europa League over the last fortnight.

Donyell Malen scored both of Villa’s goals against Burnley, though Emi Martinez was denied a clean sheet when Lesley Ugochukwu headed past him in the 78th minute.

Here are the talking points from Villa’s win…

Emery unlocks the best of Malen

Malen made his 21st Premier League appearance on Sunday, but only his fourth start. In those starts, he has scored three goals, having also netted against Nottingham Forest at Villa Park back in April.

Indeed, his brace against the Clarets was the first time he has scored twice in a game across all competitions since February 2024, when he struck for Borussia Dortmund against SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga.

What gives Villa fans hope that this won’t be another false start to his career at Villa is the different role he played on Sunday.

Operating centrally in the position Moussa Diaby often filled the season before last, Malen was able to utilise his best qualities.

Villa had been crying out for pace at the start of the season, and finding a way to get both Malen and Evann Guessand into the same side would certainly address that.

While John McGinn started instead of Guessand against Burnley, there’s certainly a world in which Malen and Guessand could play together.

At the very least, Malen dovetailing with Ollie Watkins is a dangerous prospect for opposition defenders, who already have their hands full with the England international’s movement in behind.

With Morgan Rogers buzzing around, and both full-backs pushing high and wide, chance creation shouldn’t be an issue for Villa going forward.

Malen told the BBC after full-time: “You always hope for a hat-trick and more goals but I was a bit tired as well! I think it was a good performance overall. First half we were really on it and at periods during the second half we were also good so quite pleased.

"You don’t want to concede because you know they are going to come back but the whole team did well to maintain the lead.

"We had a hard start, we turned it around quite well. For now we have to keep looking forward and push for more points and more good games.”

Asked about playing with Watkins, Malen added: “It is something that we have tried in training a few times and we have a good connection. It went quite well today.”

Bogarde has come of age

Lamare Bogarde’s best performance in a Villa shirt came on Sunday, whetting the appetite to see more of this young midfielder who has all the tools to become a fine Premier League player.

Without piling too much expectation on him, Emery clearly sees huge potential, having stuck with him and pushed him to reach new levels over the past 18 months.

Against Burnley, Bogarde displayed multiple facets of his growing game. In the 26th minute, he read play brilliantly, aggressively challenging Jaidon Anthony during a dangerous transition.

His interception earned a roar from the Villa Park crowd. Moments later, he powered forward to win a free-kick in the final third, drawing a yellow card from Lyle Foster.

In the 53rd minute, Bogarde collected the ball deep and progressed it to Malen, who combined with Watkins before Rogers’ attempt narrowly missed the target.

It was a performance Emery will hope becomes a foundation for Bogarde to build upon.

Rogers showing more encouraging signs

Villa fans have seen players hide in a claret and blue shirt before – but Morgan Rogers isn’t one of them.

Few would have been surprised if the England international had shrunk into his shell after the first few games of the season, even drawing ironic cheers against Bologna at Villa Park.

Emery insisted on playing him through that dip, and now we're seeing signs that it could be paying off. That's testament to Rogers' mindset and mentality.

After showing some improvements against Fulham, Rogers still struggled with some basics in the Europa League win over Feyenoord. But even then, there were encouraging flashes.

Against Burnley, Rogers misplaced only two passes all game, though one of them ended a promising attack before half-time. More importantly, he recorded his second goal contribution of the season, assisting Malen’s opener.

That should give him a confidence boost heading into England duty. Since the start of April, Rogers has tallied the most assists in the Premier League (eight), at least two more than any other player.

Football changes quickly

After going winless in their opening six games, Villa now boast the joint-longest active winning run in all competitions among Premier League sides (four, level with Arsenal).

They also remain unbeaten in their last 30 Premier League home matches when scoring first. Only Liverpool (105) and Manchester United (42) are on longer such streaks in the top flight.

Successive home league wins over Fulham and Burnley were vital, not least because the fixture list now gets much tougher.

After the break, Villa travel to Tottenham before hosting Manchester City at Villa Park. Their third Europa League clash, away at Go Ahead Eagles, falls between those matches.

Then comes another daunting test – Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, November 1.

What did you make of Villa's performance? Tell us here

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