Smack!
Theodore had launched his entire body into the air, completely sacrificing himself to absorb John Fleck's thunderous shot with his ribs.
The ball ricocheted harmlessly away, killing the Sheffield counter-attack dead in its tracks.
Thousands of miles away, inside the Dongqiu studio in Beijing, Zhan Jun's voice exploded through the microphones.
"A crucial interception! What a diving block from Bjorn!" Zhan Jun praised loudly. "He threw his body on the line! If it weren't for the 17-year-old's spatial awareness, Sheffield United would have had a clean look at the goal!"
Down on the pitch, the danger wasn't just cleared—it was instantly flipped.
The loose ball fell perfectly to the feet of John McGinn.
At 24, the Scottish international was a £10 million midfield engine, boasting a combination of physical grit and pinpoint passing.
Recognizing the transition, McGinn didn't hesitate. He took one touch and pass a rapid ball out to Anwar El Ghazi flying down the right flank.
The counter-attack was on.
Over thirty thousand Aston Villa fans rose from their seats, their eyes glued to El Ghazi.
The towering 189cm winger didn't bother cutting inside. He whipped a vicious, 45-degree cross directly into the mixer, aiming right for Tammy Abraham's head.
But Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder had come prepared.
He had deployed a suffocating three-center-back formation specifically to neutralize aerial threats.
Abraham found himself instantly sandwiched by three massive defenders.
John Egan rose highest, violently heading the ball out of bounds to clear the danger.
Corner kick to Aston Villa.
Theodore immediately jogged over to the corner flag.
The crowd buzzed with anticipation. He raised his right hand, signaling the play, and whipped his right foot through the ball.
Boom!
The delivery was pure art.
The ball traced a beautiful dipping arc entirely over the chaotic center of the penalty area, dropping perfectly toward the far post.
El Ghazi had perfectly timed his run.
Using his 189cm body, he out-jumped his marker, won the first header and snapped the ball down toward the bottom corner of the net.
It was a guaranteed goal—until Dean Henderson defied physics.
The Sheffield United goalkeeper launched himself off the line with the reflexes of a cat, stretching out two strong hands to miraculously parry the ball away at the last millisecond!
"Ah, what a massive shame!" Zhan Jun groaned on the broadcast. "Theodore Bjorn's delivery was absolutely world-class, putting it on a plate for El Ghazi... but you have to tip your hat to Dean Henderson. That was an unbelievable save!"
"Coach Zhang," Zhan Jun pivoted, "we are only five minutes into this match. How are you evaluating Theodore's first professional start so far?"
Zhang Lu chuckled, leaning into his microphone. "You know what, Jun? The kid is seriously impressive. It's only been five minutes, but he's already completely showcased his defensive grit with that block and his elite passing with that corner. The stage isn't too big for him. This player has an incredibly bright future."
Just as the commentators were singing his praises, Sheffield United reminded everyone why they were sitting in seventh place.
Egan stepped out of the backline and launched a long ball forward.
Two seconds later, it was expertly brought down by Mark Duffy.
As a 34-year-old seasoned veteran, Duffy was the tactical brain of Sheffield's midfield.
He didn't hold the ball. He took one look and instantly slipped a lethal, surgical through-ball straight through the heart of Aston Villa's defense.
The pass was terrifyingly precise, slicing right through the gap between Villa's center-backs, Tommy Elphick and Tyrone Mings.
Sheffield's 33-year-old veteran striker, Billy Sharp, timed his run and latched onto the ball cleanly behind the defensive line.
Just as he pulled his leg back to pull the trigger—
Fwump.
The linesman's flag shot up into the cold air.
Peep!
The referee blew the whistle for offside. Replays showed Sharp had strayed past the last defender by half a shoulder.
Aston Villa had just narrowly escaped a disaster.
On the touchline, Dean Smith was sweating bullets.
The midfield was too open.
"Bjorn!" Smith screamed, frantically waving his hands downwards. "Drop back! Drop into the pivot! Form a wall with Jedinak!"
Theodore nodded. He didn't question the tactical shift. He immediately dropped out of the attacking third and slotted in right beside Jedinak, fortifying the defensive midfield line.
For the next five minutes, the match devolved into a brutal midfield battle.
Then, the 10th minute arrived.
Sheffield's John Fleck received the ball in the center circle.
Both Jedinak and Conor Hourihane immediately swarmed him, attempting to crush the midfielder in a double-team.
But Fleck was too sharp. He brilliantly shifted his weight, evaded the crunching tackles, and slipped the ball over to Duffy.
When the midfield maestro got the ball in space, Villa's defense was officially on life support.
Duffy didn't hesitate.
He immediately sprayed the ball out wide to Enda Stevens on the right flank.
Stevens didn't even take a touch—he just whipped a devastating first-time cross toward the near post.
Sheffield forward David McGoldrick violently shoved his way to the front, beating Mings to the spot.
He connected cleanly, snapping a vicious header directly toward the goal.
The ball flashed past a desperately diving Lovre Kalinić and ripped into the back of the net.
1-0.
The visiting side had drawn first blood!
Villa Park instantly fell into a stunned, deathly silence.
And then, the anger boiled over.
"What the fuck was that defending?!" a fan screamed from the stands.
"Wake the hell up! How do you let him get a free header at the near post?!"
"We can't lose this! Come on, Villa! Fight back!"
The anxiety in the stadium was palpable.
This was a six-point swing.
If Villa won, they took seventh place. If they lost, they would plummet five points behind Sheffield United, and their hopes of Premier League promotion would start to circle the drain.
On the touchline, Dean Smith's face was pale with fury.
He didn't expect Sheffield's attack to be this ruthlessly efficient.
He didn't have time to sulk. Smith stormed to the edge of the technical area, veins popping in his neck.
"Push up!" Smith roared at his squad. "Get up the pitch and attack! This is Villa Park! Show some goddamn spine!"
But Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was a tactical pragmatist.
The second the referee restarted the match, Wilder's men seamlessly shifted their shape.
They instantly tucked in, dropping their lines deep into their own half.
They were parking the bus.
For Sheffield United, a 1-0 away victory was more than enough to secure all three points, and they were perfectly content to build a brick wall and dare Aston Villa to try and break it down.