Sheffield United's defensive wall was finally cracking.
By shifting the play out wide to El Ghazi, the three-man central blockade had been dragged apart.
Only two center-backs were left scrambling to mark Tammy Abraham.
The passing lane was wide open.
Theodore wound up his right foot to deliver the kill shot.
But John Fleck wasn't dead yet. The Sheffield defensive midfielder came lunging out of nowhere, throwing his body directly into the passing lane in a desperate bid to intercept the ball.
Theodore didn't panic. In a split second, he aborted the pass, lightly chopped the ball with the inside of his boot, and ghosted right past the sliding midfielder.
"A fake pass and a devastating cut inside!" Zhan Jun screamed into his microphone back in the Dongqiu studio.
"He completely broke Fleck's ankles!"
With the midfield enforcer eating dirt, Theodore looked up and pulled the trigger.
Boom!
The ball whipped into the Sheffield United penalty area, slicing cleanly through the massive gap between center-backs Egan and Basham.
Abraham timed his run to absolute perfection, shattering the offside trap.
The delivery was flawless.
It dropped right onto Abraham's foot.
Dean Henderson didn't even have time to blink, let alone dive.
Abraham took it on the first touch, burying it violently into the back of the net from point-blank range.
3-1!
Villa Park descended into pure, unadulterated madness.
The deafening roar of "Hi Ho Aston Villa" violently shook the freezing Birmingham air.
The fans were losing their minds!
A 3-1 lead with twenty minutes left was all they needed to secure the massive three points.
Abraham sprinted to the corner flag, hitting a massive knee slide across the wet grass.
He popped up, pointed straight at Theodore and aggressively tackled the rookie.
"I swear to God, your passes are too fucking perfect!" Abraham yelled over the ear-splitting crowd noise.
"That's three assists you've handed me in two games! Keep feeding me like that, and I'm taking the Championship Golden Boot!"
Theodore just smirked, clapping the striker on the back. "Just keep making the runs. I'll find you."
At just 21 years old, the Chelsea loanee was proving to be an absolute monster in the Championship.
That strike marked his 21st goal of the season, cementing him in second place in the league's scoring charts.
His market value had already spiked to €20 million, and with Theodore feeding him, the sky was the limit.
...
Over on the away bench, Chris Wilder was absolutely livid.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" he roared at his backline, his face turning purple.
"Open your goddamn eyes! You're letting him walk the ball right into the box!"
With twenty minutes left on the clock, Wilder threw his tactical playbook out the window.
It was do or die.
He screamed at his squad to push high and launch an all-out assault.
In the 78th minute, Sheffield's desperation nearly paid off. The ball was pinged out to Kieran Dowell on the right wing.
Dowell had been a massive headache all night, and the second he got the ball, he didn't hesitate.
He whipped his leg back to launch a vicious cross into the box, aiming dead at the towering David McGoldrick.
But Theodore was already there.
After taking the 3-1 lead, Dean Smith had smartly ordered the teenager to drop back into the defensive double-pivot to kill the game.
Theodore closed the gap like a heat-seeking missile.
He threw his entire body into the cross, violently blocking the ball out of bounds with his shin.
"Another massive block by Theodore Bjorn!" Zhan Jun praised on the broadcast. "He threw his body on the line again! McGoldrick was waiting right there in the box! Theodore is an absolute monster on both ends of the pitch tonight!"
The Chinese live stream chat was practically on fire.
@GuangzhouUltra: "His defensive work rate is insane! He's stronger than our national team captain Zheng Zhi!"
@RealistFC: "Don't insult Bjorn like that, Zheng Zhi isn't fit to lace his boots!"
@VillaFanAsia: "Three goals tonight and Bjorn was involved in every single one of them. Attack, defense, he does it all!"
@BrummieBoy: "I've supported Villa for twenty years and this kid brings tears to my eyes. Take us back to the Premier League, Theo!"
...
The final ten minutes were an absolute siege.
Sheffield pushed their entire team forward, their center-backs practically standing on the halfway line.
Wilder subbed on three fresh attackers, going all-in for a miracle.
Aston Villa's defense bent without breaking.
Every single player ran until their lungs burned.
Right in the middle of the warzone was Theodore Bjorn.
Deep into stoppage time, the 17-year-old was still sprinting like the game had just kicked off.
In the 93rd minute, Sheffield's veteran midfielder Duffy tried to turn with the ball near the center circle.
But Theodore absolutely bulldozed him.
Utilizing his 82-rated physicality, he legally shoulder-barged the 34-year-old off the ball, leaving Duffy eating grass.
Without taking a second touch, Theodore launched a devastating, curling pass straight over the top of Sheffield's absurdly high defensive line.
Abraham broke the offside trap for the second time tonight.
He was in miles of space, dead one-on-one with Dean Henderson.
As the keeper rushed out in a desperate panic, Abraham cheekily chipped the ball right over his head.
The ball bounced cleanly into the empty net.
4-1.
The final whistle blew.
Aston Villa had slaughtered Sheffield United at home, leapfrogging them in the standings and officially securing 7th place in the Championship!