March 2nd. Villa Park.
The match was about to begin!
7:30 PM. The freezing stands of Villa Park were already packed to the rafters with a massive crowd.
Over forty thousand Aston Villa fans had come to the stadium to watch the match.
Even before the game started, hysterical, deafening cheers had already filled the entire stadium.
Moreover, a huge section of Aston Villa fans were loudly chanting Theodore Bjorn's name!
...
Deep in the player tunnel, the starting players of both teams were already in position.
Derby County's head coach, Frank Lampard, and Aston Villa's assistant coach, John Terry, warmly greeted each other with a hug.
The starting players from both sides were also casually chatting in the tunnel.
The pre-match atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious.
However, everyone knew very well that once the referee blew the whistle to start the match, the two teams would battle fiercely!
And it would be a desperate dogfight!
Although Derby County was currently only in 11th place in the league, their main goal this season was also to reach the Premier League.
Therefore, Derby County's players and coaching staff were eager to defeat Aston Villa away from home to aggressively close the points gap.
...
"Welcome, everyone watching at home, to the highly anticipated highlight match of the 2018-2019 EFL Championship Round 35! Aston Villa hosts Derby County at Villa Park!"
"Currently, Aston Villa remains in 6th place in the league, while their opponents, Derby County, are sitting in 11th place. The points difference between the two teams is currently 12 points!" Weaver announced.
"Next, let's look at the starting lineups for both teams,"
"The home team, Aston Villa, is set up in an aggressive 4-3-3 formation today!"
"The goalkeeper is the team's second-choice keeper, Jed Steer!"
"The four defenders are: Ahmed Elmohamady, Tommy Elphick, Tyrone Mings, and Neil Taylor!"
"The three midfielders: Jack Grealish, Theodore Bjorn, and Conor Hourihane."
"The three forwards: Albert Adomah, Tammy Abraham, and Anwar El Ghazi!"
"Due to Aston Villa's heavily congested fixture schedule recently and consecutive brutal matches against strong opponents, the overall fitness of the key players has noticeably declined. Therefore, facing the relatively weaker Derby County today, Aston Villa has made some necessary rotations," Goodman analyzed.
"As for the away team, Derby County, head coach Frank Lampard has fielded his strongest lineup!" Weaver added.
"Goalkeeper: Scott Carson!"
"Full-backs: Andre Wisdom, Curtis Davies, Fikayo Tomori, and Ashley Cole!"
"Three midfielders: Max Bird, George Evans, and Duane Holmes;"
"Three forwards: Florian Jozefzoon, Jack Marriott, and Mason Bennett!"
"The referee blows the whistle, and the match has now officially begun!" Weaver shouted.
"The home team, Aston Villa, has immediately taken the initiative and launched an attack towards the opponent's goal!"
As Weaver's voice faded, the ball landed cleanly at Theodore Bjorn's feet.
When the fans in the stands of Villa Park saw the teenager receive the ball, massive cheers once again erupted throughout the stadium!
"Theo! Use your skills to destroy them!"
"Show off that fucking long-passing ability!"
"No one can stop your passes, lad!"
"Theo! The future midfield maestro of Aston Villa!"
Faced with the passionate fans' shouts and cheers, Theodore's performance certainly did not disappoint the eager spectators.
After receiving the ball from Hourihane, he immediately delivered a vicious, slicing through pass.
Yes. This time, Theodore didn't opt for a high, lofted long pass, but chose a ground-level through ball instead.
The ball skimmed across the wet turf, speeding dangerously toward the opponent's penalty area.
Although Theodore's specific 'Through Pass' attribute couldn't quite compare to his limit-broken 'Long Pass' attribute, this time his through ball still managed to perfectly slice through Derby County's defensive line.
The ball shot like a bolt of lightning, swiftly slipping through the narrow gap between Curtis Davies and Fikayo Tomori.
They completely failed to react in time!
In an instant, the ball landed cleanly at Abraham's feet.
The only major regret was that the Aston Villa forward wasn't entirely prepared for the rapid pass either.
Abraham's rushed shot struck the opposing goalkeeper directly.
Scott Carson firmly held onto the ball! Successfully neutralizing Aston Villa's dangerous early attack.
Although Abraham failed to score, Theodore's wicked through pass still brilliantly showcased his excellent form.
The Aston Villa fans in the stadium immediately erupted into highly enthusiastic applause for the teenager.
Subsequently, the Sky Sports broadcast focused its main camera on Norway's head coach, Lars Lagerbäck, seated up in the VIP stands.
Commentator Gary Weaver immediately demonstrated his professional expertise.
"Lars Lagerbäck is also here in Birmingham to watch the match live tonight! He is currently the head coach of the Norwegian national team. He previously led Sweden to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and famously guided Iceland to the quarter-finals of the 2016 European Championship! His coaching resume is incredibly rich and highly respected!"
"It seems tonight Lars Lagerbäck fully intends to personally assess Theodore Bjorn's performance," Goodman added.
"In mid-March, Norway will face some incredibly tough European Championship qualifiers!"
...
The fierce match continued.
Five minutes later, Aston Villa launched another aggressive attack.
This time, it was Jack Grealish breaking through with the ball in midfield.
Since Aston Villa's tactical formation tonight wasn't the previous 4-1-4-1 but had aggressively shifted to a 4-3-3, Grealish's position had returned slightly deeper to the midfield.
This time, after receiving the ball, Grealish remained remarkably composed despite heavy interference from Derby County's midfielders.
He effortlessly bypassed the opposing player's desperate challenge.
Subsequently, two other Derby County midfielders, George Evans and Duane Holmes, charged aggressively toward Grealish.
On the away substitutes' bench, Derby County manager Frank Lampard's eyes were filled with visible tension. He knew all too well exactly how formidable Grealish's dribbling abilities were.
If Grealish were allowed to easily break through the central area, it would pose immediate threat to Derby County's defense!
However, Lampard's intense worries were slightly premature.
Upon seeing two Derby County midfielders rapidly closing in on him, Grealish decisively chose to pass the ball.
The ball was quickly distributed to Theodore Bjorn, who was operating alongside him in the midfield.
After receiving the ball, although no Derby County defenders were immediately pressuring him, Theodore still didn't opt to dribble forward.
Instead, he immediately chose to pass.
At that exact moment, deep inside Derby County's penalty area, Aston Villa's three forwards—Adomah, Abraham, and El Ghazi—were all perfectly in position.
Adomah and El Ghazi appeared threateningly on the left and right sides inside the penalty area.
Abraham was positioned centrally, ready to strike.
Theodore had three distinct passing options.
But he ultimately chose to pass the ball to Tammy Abraham!
A masterful, sweeping overhead long pass!
In the blink of an eye, the ball dropped perfectly onto Abraham's head.
Theodore's pass was as mathematically precise as if measured with a ruler.
For Abraham, all he needed to do was execute a simple, powerful header to completely breach the opponent's goal.
Faced with such an exquisite silver-platter pass, Abraham naturally didn't waste the golden opportunity.
He leaped with all his might, towering over the defenders for the header.
The ball shot toward the opponent's goal like a cannonball!
1-0!
"GOALLLLL!" Weaver screamed into the mic. "Another Theodore Bjorn assist! Tammy Abraham gets the goal!"
"Derby County's defense was completely torn apart by Theodore Bjorn's vision! In just the first ten minutes, the teenager has made only two passes into the penalty area, yet both created massive threats to the opponent's goal!"
"Two crosses, one assist," Goodman summarized. "It's worth noting that this assist marks Theodore Bjorn's 15th of the season!"
"From Aston Villa's recent attacks, it's abundantly clear the team's offense heavily relies on Theodore's performance," Goodman added.
"Barring any major surprises, he should secure at least two more assists in tonight's match if Derby doesn't figure out how to stop him."
In the packed stands of Villa Park, the atmosphere was absolutely electric!
Tens of thousands of fans were already passionately chanting Theodore Bjorn's name hysterically.
Though Abraham scored the goal, every single Aston Villa fan knew that without Theodore's god-tier pass, Abraham would never have scored so easily!
"Theo! Theo! Theo!"
Up in the VIP stands, Lars Lagerbäck couldn't help but slowly applaud the teenager's vision.
Without a doubt, the Norway national team coach had been completely won over by Theodore's exquisite skills.
On the pitch, Abraham immediately rushed over to Theodore.
"Theo! thank you for the pass, mate!" Abraham yelled, grabbing him. "It looks like I'll actually be winning the Championship Golden Boot this season! I'll treat you to a massive feast when it happens!"
Abraham's face was beaming with pure joy.
So far this season, Abraham had scored 25 league goals, with Theodore providing 7 of those assists!
He was the Aston Villa player who had assisted Abraham the most.
Moreover, Theodore had only made 7 appearances for the Aston Villa first team.
Essentially, he was averaging an assist to Abraham every single match!
This efficiency was truly terrifying.
After the restart, the crushing pressure naturally shifted to the visiting Derby County players.
Derby County manager Frank Lampard was clearly growing restless.
He stood urgently on the touchlines, constantly directing his players.
"Pass it out to the wings!" Lampard shouted himself hoarse. "Make the pass! Don't hesitate! Play more decisively!"
But unfortunately for Lampard, it made absolutely no difference whatsoever.
During this period, the home team Aston Villa implemented a suffocating high-pressure pressing tactic.
Theodore, along with Grealish and Hourihane, made it extremely difficult for Derby County to build up play through the midfield with their relentless running and aggressive pressing.
This was especially true for Theodore.
Not only could he provide elite assists for the forwards, but he also frequently completed gritty, tough tackles on the defensive end.
In the last ten minutes alone, Theodore had won all five of his physical duels and made four clean tackles.
He had instantly transformed into a midfield defensive stalwart!
In the 28th minute of the match, Aston Villa scored their second goal of the game.
And the creator was once again, Theodore Bjorn!
In the midfield, Theodore used his exceptional physicality to violently knock Max Bird off the ball before quickly delivering a sweeping long pass.
From winning the ball to making the pass, it took Theodore less than two seconds.
Although Derby County's midfielders desperately tried to block his pass, they were completely unable to interfere in time.
Thump!
A few seconds later, the ball found its way deep into the attacking third.
More precisely, it landed perfectly at the feet of Albert Adomah.
This Aston Villa left-winger possessed exceptional, tricky dribbling skills.
In previous matches, Adomah had recorded four goals and four assists. However, in earlier games, Adomah had not been given many opportunities to play, spending most of his time on the bench.
But now, due to the squad rotation, Adomah finally had the chance to fully showcase his talent!
As soon as Adomah received the ball on the wing, he immediately accelerated.
He aimed to use his explosive speed to shake off his marker!
Seeing this danger, Derby County's full-back Ashley Cole quickly moved to defend.
Like Lampard and John Terry, this player had also previously played for Chelsea as a club legend.
However, Ashley Cole, now firmly in the twilight of his career, no longer had the physical ability to compete in the Premier League and had chosen to join Derby County instead.
He had become one of Lampard's key veteran players.
But Adomah paid absolutely no attention to Ashley Cole's legendary status.
Without hesitation, he pushed the ball forward and surged right past him.
Adomah moved like a blur, instantly darting past Ashley Cole's right side.
Ashley Cole had no choice but to grimly accept that age had finally caught up with him. In his younger days, he would have no trouble marking a player like Adomah one-on-one.
But now, Ashley Cole simply couldn't keep up with Adomah's raw pace.
He was beaten with a single, brutal burst of speed!
Fortunately for Derby, defensive support was quick to arrive.
As soon as Adomah bypassed Ashley Cole, Derby County's center-back Curtis Davies rushed aggressively to confront him.
Davies successfully positioned his body to block Adomah's path, firmly preventing him from advancing any further.
Although Adomah had no space to break through, he decided to take a shot.
Inside the penalty area, Adomah completely ignored Curtis Davies' physical challenge and fired a shot!
However... the ball did not find the back of the net.
Instead, it was blocked by the veteran Curtis Davies with his outstretched right leg.
The ball ricocheted and rebounded to the edge of the penalty area!
Jack Grealish eagerly seized control of the loose ball.
Thump!
Grealish's football intelligence was exceptionally high, and he immediately spotted a massive gap in Derby County's defense.
That gap was on the right side!
Due to Adomah's aggressive breakthrough on the left, the entire Derby County defense had instinctively shifted their focus to the left flank.
This inadvertently overlooked the massive threat from Anwar El Ghazi lurking on the right.