At a time when Aston Villa's strikers are in high demand, another of the team's attackers now has a Champions League scoring feat for which Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Erling Haaland would be proud.
With goals in the third and fifth minutes against Celtic, Morgan Rogers became the first player to score twice in the opening five minutes of a Champions League game, statistics supplier Opta said Wednesday.
The England attacking midfielder wound up with a hat trick after scoring his third goal in second-half stoppage time to wrap up a 4-2 win as Villa finished in eighth place to qualify automatically for the round of 16.
“Definitely the highlight of my career so far," said the 22-year-old Rogers, a former Manchester City youth-team player.
Rogers marked his goals at Villa Park with a Cole Palmer-style celebration, rubbing his hands over his arms in a “cold” pose.
It continued Rogers' breakthrough season at Villa — and his goals might be important going forward this season.
There was speculation in the British media Wednesday linking Jhon Duran, Villa's back-up striker from Colombia, with a move to Al Nassr — the Saudi club where Cristiano Ronaldo plays.
“We are in the eyes of another strong team, another strong league like (Saudi) Arabia. It's something I can feel proud of,” Villa manager Unai Emery said.
“I don't know exactly until everything is done if Jhon Duran is leaving or not. But if he is leaving, it’s good news for us, because they are paying good money, because it's good news for him, because we develop a player for two years and get this offer."
Duran was an unused substitute against Celtic, with fellow striker Ollie Watkins playing the whole game and scoring Villa's other goal — he also missed a penalty after slipping when attempting to kick the ball.
Watkins was playing amid speculation over his future, with Arsenal reportedly having made a bid for the England striker that was rejected. Watkins is a boyhood Arsenal fan.
“We want to keep him,” Emery said of Watkins. “Every player can be available in the market if it's good for the player, for the club, for the team. But to get this deal, we need to be demanding as well. Watkins is our striker.”
Villa is playing in Europe's top competition for the first time since the 1982-83 season, when it was defending champion.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
