Martin Keown says Morgan Rogers did something he’s never seen before vs Bologna

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Aston Villa picked up their first win of the season against Bologna, but Martin Keown saw something in Morgan Rogers’ performance that he never has before.

It has been a difficult start to the season for Unai Emery’s men, as they have crashed out of the EFL Cup and failed to win a game in the Premier League.

Aston Villa currently sit 18th in the Premier League table and has surprisingly only scored one goal in their first five games.

However, Aston Villa reminded fans of their qualities against Bologna, with John McGinn scoring the only goal to kickstart their Europa League campaign properly.

Despite the positives, Arsenal legend Keown saw something in Rogers that he was surprised by.

Martin Keown was surprised by Morgan Rogers losing the ball

Rogers has been one of the bright sparks at Aston Villa throughout his time at the club, having a true breakout season during the 2024-25 campaign.

The midfielder has broken into the England team due to his performances, but during an interview with Ezri Konsa for TNT Sports, Keown questioned his efforts against Bologna.

“Is that the next step for you now to become a leader? To get these guys through, we look at Morgan Rogers tonight, I think he lost the ball 28 or 29 times. We’ve never really seen him do that before.

“It’s about, we know what’s under the bonnet, but encouraging him to do more.”

Rogers lost the most duels of anyone on the pitch in what turned out to be a game to forget for him on an individual basis.

Ezri Konsa believes encouraging Morgan Rogers is key

Even though it has been a tough start to the season for Aston Villa and Rogers personally, Konsa hasn’t lost faith in his team-mate and the ability he has.

He spoke to Keown after the game, making it clear that there are positive signs to take from what Rogers is doing in games, even when things aren’t going to plan.

“Morgan is still young, I think a lot of people forget. He had a great season for us last year, but you know, coming into this season, he hasn’t quite started the way he wanted to.

“But for me, he’s a good friend of mine, I try to encourage him as much as possible, even though he lost the ball a lot of times. It’s important for a player like him, you have to keep getting it.

“The good thing about him he keeps trying. No matter how many times he loses it, he keeps going. For me, that’s really important.”