Palmer & Foden on target - but Rogers 'has to start' at World Cup

On a weekend when Phil Foden and Cole Palmer helped Manchester City and Chelsea to vital Premier League victories, Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers showed just why he retains a firm grip on the number 10 position in Thomas Tuchel's England set-up.

Villa's eight-match winning run in all competitions appeared under serious threat at the midway point of Sunday's game at third-bottom West Ham, who led 2-1 at the break against a side who appeared jaded and short of inspiration after Thursday's Europa League victory at Basel.

In the second half, however, Rogers decided to take matters into his own hands.

The 23-year-old scored his first of the afternoon five minutes into the second half, making it 2-2 from close range after West Ham had failed to clear Youri Tielemans' low cross into the box.

Then, with the final 10 minutes approaching, Rogers collected a loose ball 30 yards from goal and was given time and space to slam a powerful, swerving strike into the top right corner of Alphonse Areola's goal and clinch a ninth straight victory for Unai Emery's third-placed team.

That magnificent effort capped a fine all-round performance from Rogers and reaffirmed his status as England's first-choice number 10 at next summer's World Cup - despite world-class competition from Foden, Palmer and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham.

"He scored two fantastic goals and, for me, he is not just going to be in the squad next summer," said former England forward and Match of the Day pundit Theo Walcott. "He is a dead cert to be a starter for England at the World Cup - 100%.

"He does everything, he's not just a goal threat. I like all [the contenders for the number 10 position], but one of them is going to have to miss out on the squad itself - and Rogers, for me, has to start."

As Walcott alluded to, Rogers was not merely a goal threat in Sunday's 3-2 win, despite registering five of Villa's seven attempts.

He enjoyed more touches inside the West Ham box than any of his colleagues at London Stadium, while he also completed more than 90% of his 22 passes in the final third - the joint-highest ratio among Villa players.

"He is such an intelligent player," added Walcott. "He's the kind of player that recognises a weakness in the structure of the team."

Reflecting on Rogers' delightful second goal, the former Arsenal player continued: "You think of [Cristiano] Ronaldo and how, if you give them time and space on the ball when they shoot from distance, they are able to manipulate the ball the way they want to. Well, Rogers is able to do that.

"Of course, he got that space he was looking for against West Ham. If you give time and space to any player like that, you are in trouble, especially him because of the way he hits the ball."

Unsurprisingly, Rogers said after the game he was "pretty confident right now".

He got eight league goals last season and has five already in this campaign.

Rogers told Match of the Day: "I'm scoring quite a few lately. If I score and we win, then I'm happy. I want to score as much as possible and help the team.

"At the moment we're in a great run, so let's see where that takes us."

Foden has spoken about his off-field struggles last season, as well as carrying an injury, which meant he was unable to showcase his best form.

But the 25-year-old is approaching close to what he is capable of, netting his 10th goal of the season in City's hard-fought win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Six of those strikes have come in his past five games, highlighting how he is hitting his stride as the season starts to ramp up and City chase down league leaders Arsenal.

Foden's goal - a rasping a low effort into the bottom corner following fine work by team-mate Rayan Cherki - will have impressed the watching Tuchel at Selhurst Park.

Despite scoring, though, Foden lost possession 16 times against Palace, the most for his team alongside Matheus Nunes.

It was something boss Pep Guardiola noted after the game as he said Foden "didn't do a good game", and "lost a lot of balls and was in a rush".

"He needs to stay calm and then change the gear in the right moment," added the Spaniard. "Playing in the same gear, he is so accelerated.

"He is so young, he listens and saying that, he has been doing an incredibly terrific season."

Foden agreed, telling BBC Match of the Day: "In the first half I gave a lot of balls away and I was trying to do too much with it. Against Palace, you need to relax and play extra passes.

"That is the standard I set myself and so does the manager. He knows there is more to come from me."

Foden's prowess from outside the area means he has scored eight league goals from such position since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, with only Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe (14) scoring more across Europe's big five leagues during that period.

He has also now scored in four consecutive Premier Leagues matches for the second time in his career.

"He is in outstanding form," said ex-England goalkeeper and Match of the Day pundit Joe Hart. "You can tell he's in unreal flow right now.

"City have been clever in how they get Foden on the edge of the box, arriving in the right place at the right time."

After 87 days without making the scoresheet, Palmer ended his barren run by scoring Chelsea's first-half opener in Saturday's 2-0 win over Everton – also in front of England manager Tuchel.

The 23-year-old is still managing a groin injury which has kept him out of for a large part of the campaign so far, while he also broke his toe in an accident at home before a 2-0 win over Burnley in late November.

After rusty displays against Leeds United and Bournemouth, Saturday's calm finish from Male Gusto's pass suggested he has lost none of the goalscoring instincts that helped him hit 15 goals in 37 league outings last term.

"What I find incredible is people saying Cole Palmer will be a problem when he comes back from injury," Stephen Warnock told Final Score on Saturday. "He's been unbelievable.

"I put him in the category as one of the best players in the world."

Tuchel, of course, has another world-class ace up his sleeve too in Bellingham, who scored one and set up another against Madrid's Clasico rivals Barcelona at the end of October.

But, like Xabi Alonso's side as a whole, he has struggled for consistency of late.

The 22-year-old has scored four goals and set up another three this season, having registered 30 goal involvements in all competitions last term for Los Blancos.

Moreover, the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder's unhappy reaction to being substituted in England's World Cup qualifying win over Albania last month is unlikely to have boosted his chances of starting the Three Lions' opening World Cup game against Croatia on Wednesday, 17 June.

"I just think you need someone who can do everything," added Walcott. "Not just be good on the ball, but also be able to work defensively hard and set the press.

"Rogers fits into the team dynamic on the pitch and I think as, well, even if he doesn't play, it is the same off the pitch. His behaviour around the squad means he is a positive influence in the camp, and on his team-mates."