However, West Brom's defenders had finally learned from their previous mistakes.
This time, they sent three players simultaneously to disrupt Jack Grealish.
Full-back Kieran Gibbs, defensive midfielder Rekeem Harper, and center-back Ahmed Hegazi completely swarmed him!
The trio almost completely blocked all of Grealish's running routes. Just as the Villa captain was at a loss, Theodore Bjorn suddenly appeared behind him.
It turned out that after Theodore passed the ball to McGinn in the midfield, he didn't choose to sit back and defend.
Instead, he immediately charged into the attacking third!
The teenager understood the situation perfectly. When a team is playing at a numerical disadvantage, attacking becomes extremely difficult.
Especially since West Brom's players had already figured out Aston Villa's primary attacking tactics—as long as they contained Grealish's runs, they could largely stifle the entire offense.
Thus, Theodore decisively surged forward to provide the crucial overlap!
"Jack!" Theodore sprinted rapidly along the touchline, shouting Grealish's name at the top of his lungs.
When Grealish saw Theodore overlapping, it was like a massive lifeline.
Without any hesitation, he immediately slipped the ball out to the teenager.
Out on the left flank, Theodore continued driving the ball forward along the touchline.
"Mark that fucking Norwegian kid! Don't let him get the cross off!" On the West Brom bench, head coach Darren Moore grew visibly tense the moment he saw Theodore receive the ball.
After all, in tonight's match, Theodore had already provided two clinical assists.
His form was scorching hot.
Moore was absolutely terrified that the teenager would secure a third. He frantically directed his players to stop Theodore's advance.
Near the byline, Theodore stopped the ball and immediately whipped a cross in with his left foot!
Because his preferred foot was his right, the overall quality and trajectory of this left-footed cross naturally couldn't quite compare to his usual god-tier deliveries.
Even so, the ball still dropped dangerously into the box. It drifted slightly closer to the West Brom goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone, but Aston Villa's star striker Tammy Abraham, wasn't going to give up on it.
He threw his massive body forward, opting for a reckless diving header!
At that exact moment, Abraham's explosive power and leaping ability were on full display. He got to the ball first, making clean contact.
In truth, West Brom's goalkeeper Johnstone hesitated for a split second.
If Johnstone had chosen to rush off his line immediately, Abraham would never have reached the ball in time.
But that is the brutal reality of football.
Things on the pitch change in the blink of an eye.
A single second of hesitation can mean missing a chance—or conceding a goal.
Thump!
Abraham's header flashed right past Johnstone's gloves and flew straight into the back of the net.
"It is in!" Gary Weaver screamed on the Sky Sports broadcast. "Tammy Abraham scores!"
"Unbelievable! Another assist from Theodore Bjorn!" Don Goodman added in shock. "That is his third assist of the match! And he did it with his weaker left foot!"
"Aston Villa, playing with only ten men, now lead West Brom 3-1 at Villa Park!" Weaver roared.
Abraham's goal undoubtedly gave the ten men on the pitch a massive sense of reassurance.
The moment the ball crossed the line, almost all of his Aston Villa teammates sprinted toward him at full speed, celebrating with pure, unadulterated passion.
As for Abraham, he immediately rushed over to Theodore first.
He wrapped his arms tightly around the teenager's neck, continuously pointing directly at him.
He was explicitly showing the roaring home fans that this goal was entirely thanks to Theodore's delivery.
Up in the stands, Coach Dean Smith who had been sent off earlier, finally took a deep shuddering breath.
"Fucking brilliant, Bjorn! You really didn't let me down!" he muttered to himself, clenching his fists.
"Dropping you into that full-back role was a bloody lifesaver."
Aston Villa's goal came precisely in the 43rd minute.
This instantly crushed the morale of the West Brom players.
Originally, Darren Moore had specifically instructed his squad to equalize before the halftime whistle.
But now, not only had they failed to level the score against ten men, but they were also even further behind!
Although West Brom's attacking line immediately launched a desperate assault on Aston Villa's goal after the restart, their efforts were completely in vain.
Three consecutive shots failed to even hit the target.
Eventually, after a grueling five minutes of added time, the referee blew his whistle to end the first half.
Aston Villa walked down the tunnel leading West Brom 3-1.
During the break, major sports platforms across England rapidly released their halftime reports for the fiery Midlands clash.
Sky Sports: Aston Villa Playing with Ten Men! Head Coach Sent Off! Villa Still Lead 3-1 Thanks to Theodore Bjorn's Assist Hat-Trick!
BBC Sport: Aston Villa Suffer from Shocking Refereeing at Home! Full-Back Kortney Hause and Manager Dean Smith Shown Straight Red Cards! Theodore Bjorn Shines as Makeshift Defender!
The Athletic: First-Half Assist Hat-Trick! 17-Year-Old Theodore Bjorn Has Completely Become Aston Villa's Offensive Engine!
The Guardian: Shocking! Poor Refereeing in the Championship! Two Highly Controversial Red Cards Push Aston Villa to the Brink, But Bjorn's Cross Extends the Lead!
Daily Mail: Aston Villa Survive with Only 30% Possession! Shots 5-10 in Favor of West Brom, But Theodore Bjorn Tears Apart the Baggies Defense!
Meanwhile, deep inside the home dressing room at Villa Park, assistant coach John Terry was holding the fort, but it was Dean Smith—having snuck down from the stands—who was addressing the squad.
He was extremely fired up with his players' gritty first-half performance!
Standing in the center of the room, he shouted with his already hoarse voice.
"Lads! You played brilliantly out there! Even though we are a man down! Even though we are getting absolutely robbed by these shit refereeing decisions! This victory is going to belong to Aston Villa!"
"This is Villa Park! This is our fucking home! We will fight to the bitter end!"
"When the second half begins, West Brom is undoubtedly going to push forward aggressively! But I believe in every single one of you to use relentless running to completely shut down their attacks! Leave everything on that pitch! Victory belongs to Villa!"
This passionate, expletive-filled speech undoubtedly fired up every single Aston Villa player in the room!
Fifteen minutes later, shortly after the referee blew his whistle to begin the second half, the away team launched relentless, desperate attacks on Aston Villa's goal.
West Brom's main attacking focus remained heavily concentrated on their right flank, which was Aston Villa's left side—the exact area currently being defended by Theodore Bjorn.
In the 50th minute, the ball arrived at the feet of Hal Robson-Kanu.
Just as Robson-Kanu was about to make his next move, Theodore appeared right in his face, maintaining a disciplined defensive stance.
Robson-Kanu was brimming with absolute confidence in his dribbling ability.
He first feinted heavily with his left foot, trying to unbalance the teenager, then suddenly pushed the ball forward with his right, rapidly accelerating toward the inside to shoot.