After a brief moment of thought, John McGinn decisively passed the ball to Theodore Bjorn.
After all, Theodore's form had been absolutely explosive in recent matches.
Especially in the last game, where he remarkably recorded four assists.
This made McGinn trust the teenager even more.
Out on the right flank, as soon as Theodore received the ball, several West Brom defenders quickly closed in around him.
Theodore didn't possess Jack Grealish's exceptional dribbling skills.
Most of the time, he would solve problems with his passing. This time was no exception. Upon receiving the ball, he immediately delivered a cross!
He did it without wasting any time against the pressing West Brom defenders.
Boom!
In an instant, a precise long pass landed right at striker Tammy Abraham's head.
Theodore's passing remained as excellent as ever. Inside the six-yard box, two West Brom center-backs were ready and waiting!
Ahmed Hegazi and Craig Dawson both charged toward Abraham, attempting to block his header.
All three jumped simultaneously!
Under heavy pressure from the two West Brom center-backs, Abraham's header sailed wide of the goal.
It completely missed the target.
Ten minutes later, the home team continued to push forward in attack.
It was McGinn driving forward with the ball.
Since West Brom was playing in a 4-3-3 formation this match, they only had three players in midfield.
Whereas Aston Villa had five midfielders, giving them absolute control.
Additionally, McGinn's ball-carrying ability was outstanding.
Even under intense pressure from two West Brom midfielders, Gareth Barry and Jake Livermore, McGinn still managed to easily break through!
When McGinn dribbled into the edge of West Brom's penalty area, the Aston Villa fans in the stadium erupted in loud cheers!
Up in the Sky Sports broadcast gantry, official commentator Gary Weaver raised his voice with sheer excitement.
"McGinn!" Weaver shouted. "This Aston Villa midfielder has successfully dribbled into West Brom's penalty area! Remember, in the last match against Brentford, McGinn scored from a long-range shot in this very area! This time, McGinn should again opt to shoot directly!"
But as soon as Weaver finished speaking, McGinn suddenly chose to pass the ball wide... immediately proving the commentator wrong!
McGinn passed the ball to Theodore.
At this moment, Theodore had only one West Brom defender in front of him. His name was Mason Holgate. Currently valued at 5 million euros, he possessed decent physical strength and had excellent stamina.
Normally, Theodore would choose to pass the ball directly into the box.
But this time, he paid absolutely no attention to Holgate, running straight toward him!
"What?!" Weaver gasped on the broadcast. "Theodore Bjorn didn't pass immediately! Instead, he chose to dribble past him? As we all know, his dribbling ability is relatively average! As a midfielder, his main offensive weapon is his passing! This time..."
Before Weaver could finish, Theodore had already successfully shaken off Holgate's defense... And the way he got past him was through sheer physical force!
At this moment, Theodore transformed into an absolute bulldozer.
He directly slammed his body into Holgate!
His 86 physicality left Holgate with absolutely no chance to fight back.
Theodore sent Holgate flying out of bounds!
"Theodore Bjorn has knocked Holgate completely flying!" Weaver roared. "Oh my god! The teenager's physicality is terrifying! You have to know, Holgate's physicality is also excellent, yet he was actually shoved out of bounds by Bjorn!"
After shaking off Holgate's defense with his overpowering physicality, Theodore found himself with a wide-open space ahead.
This also meant that West Bromwich Albion's defensive line was full of gaping holes.
"Quick! Go help defend!" West Bromwich Albion's head coach, Darren Moore, immediately began frantically directing his defenders.
"Don't let him get a chance to pass the ball!"
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Near the byline, Theodore made a passing motion with his right foot.
Inside West Bromwich Albion's penalty area, four Aston Villa players were already positioned to attack the ball: Conor Hourihane at the near post, Abraham in the center, Grealish at the far post, and McGinn near the edge of the box!
West Bromwich Albion's defensive focus was entirely on the center and far post, especially on marking Abraham.
The two center-backs, Hegazi and Craig Dawson, flanked Abraham on both sides, completely denying the Aston Villa striker any chance to shoot.
After all, in the Championship, Abraham had already scored 23 goals, placing him second in the scoring charts!
But what none of the West Bromwich Albion defenders expected was that Theodore didn't pass the ball to Aston Villa's top scorer, nor did he pass it to Grealish.
Instead... he played a sharp cutback pass.
The ball landed right at McGinn's feet!
Boom!
The Aston Villa midfielder immediately unleashed a long-range shot!
The ball flew into the net like a cannonball.
1-0
Aston Villa took the lead.
"McGinn's long-range shot!" Weaver cheered. "It's McGinn again! He has scored in two consecutive matches! And both times, it was Theodore Bjorn who provided the assist for him!"
After scoring, McGinn immediately ran toward Theodore.
"Bjorn! Fucking thank you! You've helped me score another goal!" After saying this, McGinn gave Theodore a massive hug.
Soon, more and more players rushed over to celebrate together.
On the Aston Villa sideline, head coach Dean Smith's previously tense expression finally relaxed.
He was even a bit excited.
Dean Smith couldn't help but say to assistant coach John Terry, "If I remember correctly, this should be Bjorn's 12th assist, right?! John, it seems your eye for talent is spot on! You've helped Aston Villa find a genius midfielder!"
John Terry humbly replied, "Coach Dean, it's not my credit. Gold will always shine. Even if I hadn't scouted Bjorn, he would have eventually become a first-team player for Aston Villa!"
Terry remained very level-headed.
Meanwhile, on the West Bromwich Albion bench, head coach Darren Moore was filled with despair and rage.
"Damn it! It's way too fucking easy for their number 33 player to get the ball! Can't even defend against some kid! What a bunch of useless fools!" Darren Moore stood by the sidelines, continuously venting his frustration.
Meanwhile, the West Bromwich Albion assistant coach nervously reminded him.
"Coach, the opposing team's No. 33 player has already recorded 12 assists in the Championship... And he's a highly rated Norwegian youth international."
As the head coach of West Bromwich Albion, Darren Moore clearly hadn't conducted a detailed investigation of Theodore before the match.
He hadn't even watched the previous Aston Villa vs. Brentford game.
This directly led Darren Moore to severely underestimate Theodore's ability.
After the restart, West Bromwich Albion immediately launched an attack toward Aston Villa's goal.
Once again, it was midfielder Jake Livermore's long pass.
This time, Livermore distributed the ball to Hal Robson-Kanu on the right flank.
This player's dribbling was equally impressive.
With a slick "flip-flap" move, he instantly shook off Aston Villa's full-back, Kortney Hause.
The next moment, Robson-Kanu immediately shaped up to take a shot!
Aston Villa's center-back Tyrone Mings, seeing this, instinctively threw himself into a block.
Little did he know, this was just Robson-Kanu's feint.
A fake shot followed by a sharp cut inside.
With just this simple technical move, Robson-Kanu easily bypassed Hause, instantly creating space for a shot!
One second later, Robson-Kanu's shot flew into Aston Villa's net.
Although goalkeeper Lovre Kalinić had already made a diving save, unfortunately, Robson-Kanu's shot was incredibly fast.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper couldn't get a touch on the ball.
Thump!
he ball hit the back of the net.
1-1!
"Robson-Kanu!" Weaver shouted over the roaring away fans. "West Bromwich Albion, playing away, quickly equalizes the score! The score is now 1-1! This is entirely the result of individual brilliance from a star player! This Welsh international single-handedly tore through Aston Villa's defense!"
After Robson-Kanu's goal, English football fans on social media immediately expressed strong dissatisfaction with Aston Villa's defense.
"What the fuck are Aston Villa's defenders doing?! Robson-Kanu's dribble was way too easy!"
"West Bromwich Albion equalized in just two minutes! They're really strong!"
"Trash defense! Aston Villa's backline is an absolute joke right now!"
"To be fair, Robson-Kanu's dribble was truly brilliant! So damn sharp!"
On the Aston Villa bench, head coach Dean Smith threw his hands up in the air, his expression filled with helplessness and anger.
He hadn't expected the team's defense to be breached so easily.
"Hey! Wake the fuck up and stay focused!" Smith bellowed at his backline. "We absolutely cannot lose this match! Don't make such basic mistakes again!"
After the equalizer, the away side, West Bromwich Albion, was brimming with confidence.
Following the restart, West Bromwich Albion's players actually chose to continue pressing forward and attacking! It seemed that a 1-1 scoreline wasn't enough to satisfy them.
They wanted to capitalize on their momentum after scoring and quickly extend their lead.
Thus, West Bromwich Albion's players began to push forward aggressively.
In the 33rd minute of the match, once again, West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jake Livermore gained control of the ball.
When Livermore prepared to pass the football to Robson-Kanu on the right flank, Aston Villa's defensive midfielder Jedinak suddenly appeared before him.
The Australian international stood at 189cm tall with an excellent physical presence.
Yet he posed absolutely no threat to Livermore, who merely flicked the ball right through Jedinak's legs. A deft nutmeg successfully bypassed Jedinak.
Fortunately, Aston Villa had numerous midfielders. As soon as Jedinak was beaten, another midfielder, Hourihane, rushed to confront Livermore.
This time Livermore didn't attempt to dribble forward but quickly passed to Robson-Kanu on the wing!
The pressure instantly shifted to Aston Villa's full-back Hause.
Just as Hause positioned himself before Robson-Kanu, the latter suddenly pushed the ball forward.
Using a rapid change of pace, he instantly bypassed Hause!
"Robson-Kanu's dribbling skills have reached masterful levels today!" Weaver praised on the broadcast.
"Aston Villa's full-back Hause was completely helpless!"
As Robson-Kanu charged toward Aston Villa's penalty area, Theodore arrived.
This time, Theodore adopted a reactive approach. He didn't commit to a tackle immediately but waited for Robson-Kanu to make the first move.
Undeniably, Theodore's defensive positioning was extremely solid.
The moment Robson-Kanu moved his left foot to control the ball, Theodore immediately applied heavy pressure.
Simultaneously, he maintained hard physical contact with the winger.
Through this gritty series of actions, Theodore successfully completed the interception!
The instant he won possession, Theodore immediately scanned for his teammates' movements upfield.
He knew West Brom had committed numbers forward, leaving their defense badly exposed.
This presented a perfect counterattacking opportunity for Aston Villa!
Soon, Theodore identified his target and he immediately launched a sweeping long ball toward the attacking third!
The ball soared across the halfway line and landed perfectly at Jack Grealish's feet on Aston Villa's left flank.
Grealish received the pass in stride. West Brom's defense now only had two center-backs remaining—Hegazi and Craig Dawson.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa's attackers included both Grealish and Abraham.
Equal numbers between attackers and defenders!
This spelled massive trouble for the defending side.
Upon receiving the ball, Grealish immediately accelerated, running hard at the backline.
The two West Brom center-backs quickly divided their responsibilities.
Hegazi marked Grealish while Craig Dawson tracked Abraham.
Grealish faced a pure 1v1 situation!
As Aston Villa's attacking talisman, Grealish possessed formidable dribbling ability.
After executing two quick step-overs, he forcefully cut inside shaking off Hegazi's desperate challenge, he pushed the ball into the penalty area and unleashed a shot!
Thump!
The ball flew beautifully into the top corner!
2-1!
Aston Villa had retaken the lead!
Another clinical assist from Theodore Bjorn.
After Aston Villa restored their lead, the visiting West Brom players grew increasingly frustrated.
Shortly after the restart, West Brom once again launched a full-scale offensive, attempting to quickly equalize the score once more.
However, having learned from their previous experience, Aston Villa made corresponding tactical adjustments.
Dean Smith decisively instructed all players on the field to retreat to their own half for defense.
"Defense first! Hold the fucking line!" Smith roared from the technical area.
Just like that, Aston Villa set up a rigid defensive bunker formation.