Rogers delight at Craven Cottage success

Morgan Rogers cut a delighted figure after helping Aston Villa to a 3-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Rogers’ deflected strike quickly levelled matters for the Villans after Raul Jimenez had given the hosts an early lead, with Emi Martínez’s penalty save ensuring it was level at the break.

Ollie Watkins’ well-taken header and Issa Diop’s own goal secured the spoils for the visitors, as both sides finished with 10 men in west London.

And Rogers was happy to extend Villa’s unbeaten sequence to nine matches.

“They (Fulham) are a very good team, we knew that, they’ve got quality all over the pitch,” the midfielder told VillaTV.

“Not the ideal start but I think once the goal went in, we settled down pretty quickly and played how we normally do.

“I think we were strong, we were determined, we were focused to get back into the game. And we did that pretty quickly.

“From there on in, we kicked on and got better and better.

“A few chances we probably could have scored in the first half, me being one of them, I would liked to have put them away.

“I think we were very good and then second half we ramped it up again and deserved the win.

“We’re very happy.”

Villa are enjoying their best start to a Premier League season for 26 years after the opening eight matches.

Having drawn their last two in the league, Unai Emery’s side returned to winning ways in impressive style.

The Villans have now won six of their last seven meetings with Fulham, who suffered their first home defeat of the campaign.

Rogers, having just returned from international duty with England’s Under-21s, will now switch his attention to Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League encounter against Bologna.

Asked how difficult it is to turn focus from one competition to the next, Rogers replied: “It’s not easy but it’s our job, it’s what we do, it’s what we love.

“I’m so excited for the next games coming up, we’ve got big games, important games coming up.

“And it’s just about switching your mindset to the next game and being focused for that game.

“We’ve got a squad to do that, we’ve got players coming back from injury, we’ve got a big squad who are going to be needed.

“You can see that today it’s bigger, everyone’s come back, we’re all united as a team, we all want the same goal.”