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Aston Villa missed a golden chance to secure silverware this season, bowing out in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday after a penalty shootout defeat to Brentford.
Yet Morgan Rogers, who's recently been linked with a move to Liverpool, didn't take a penalty. Harvey Elliott opened his account for Villa at the end of the first half, having recently departed from Anfield himself, but Aaron Hickey equalized for the Bees just before the hour mark.
Jadon Sancho hit the post for Villa before Brentford's equalizer, while Matty Cash missed a prime opportunity to clinch victory in the final moments. John McGinn, looking for his second assist of the night, found Cash at the far post, but Brentford goalkeeper Haakon Valdimarsson denied him.
Villa captain McGinn was the first to step up in the shootout, but his weak effort was saved by Valdimarsson. The Bees then scored all three of their penalties before Cash stepped up to take Villa's fourth, only to see his shot saved as well.
Mikkel Damsgaard then secured the win by beating Marco Bizot from the penalty spot. In his post-match press conference, Emery was asked if he needed to console either McGinn or Cash after the penalty shootout disappointment.
"They are players who have confidence in taking penalties," Emery said.
"We have our analysis of our players, how they have performed throughout their careers (with penalties). I have nothing to tell them."
Ollie Watkins and Emi Buendiia were the successful penalty takers for Villa, but fans were left scratching their heads as to why Rogers didn't step up to the spot.
"With us, we don't have any analysis of him taking a penalty," said Emery about Rogers. "I don't know if he is good or not (at taking them)."
Rogers has entered Liverpool's transfer radar after a superb 2024-25 season, which saw him score 14 goals and provide 16 assists in all competitions.
He was named as the PFA Young Player of the Year and became a full England international as a result of his outstanding displays.
The 23-year-old graduated from West Brom's academy before being snapped up by Manchester City as a 17-year-old.
He never made a senior appearance for City, spending time on loan at Lincoln, Bournemouth, and Blackpool before joining Middlesbrough during the summer of 2023.
After just half a season at Middlesbrough, Rogers transferred to Villa and became an immediate success in the Premier League. He's won seven caps for England to date.
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