After Mason Mount's shot equalized the score, the happiest person in the stadium wasn't actually Mount himself, but Derby County's manager, Frank Lampard.
Mount's outstanding performance directly reflected Lampard's own coaching ability and tactical vision.
"Fucking brilliant, Mase! Keep it going, lad! You're running this game!" Lampard shouted from the touchline, tapping his watch.
Derby County had the momentum to overturn the scoreline.
After the restart, the home side showed aggression, but their front three—Tammy Abraham, Albert Adomah, and Anwar El Ghazi—were in dismal form.
Theodore Bjorn's passes accurately found the forwards time and time again, but the outcomes were awful.
Shots blasted into the stands or dragged weakly wide.
They simply couldn't exert any real pressure on the Derby defense.
Gradually, as the clock ticked away, the patience of the Aston Villa fans wore razor-thin.
"Make a fucking substitution!"
"What is John Terry doing down there? Even as an assistant, he needs to make a change!"
"Can Dean Smith not see this disaster from the stands?!"
"These three forwards are a joke today!"
While Aston Villa struggled to threaten the goal, the visiting Derby County players continuously sought attacking opportunities.
They were biding their time for the right moment.
Soon, that opportunity arrived.
In the 85th minute, Abraham received another lofted pass from Theodore inside the penalty area.
He went for the header, usually his strong suit.
However, faced with Curtis Davies' physical interference and shirt-pulling, Abraham lost the aerial duel. He failed to win the first contact, and Davies cleared the ball away.
Two seconds later, the ball landed at Mount's feet. A loud chorus of hostile boos instantly erupted from the Villa Park stands.
Though only twenty years old, Mount remained composed under the intense pressure.
In central midfield, he executed a sharp drag-back turn, easily bypassing Jack Grealish.
Immediately after, Conor Hourihane rushed over to close him down.
But at that exact moment, Mount chose to pass.
Thump.
With a crisp touch, the ball soared toward Jack Marriott. Inside the right channel of the penalty area, Marriott and Tyrone Mings leaped simultaneously.
Marriott held the superior position.
Despite his smaller stature, the forward managed to outjump Mings to win the header.
Instead of heading toward goal, Marriott nodded the ball across the face of the six-yard box.
Florian Jozefzoon rushed toward the near post.
Using his body, he bundled the ball into the net!
4-3.
Derby County had completed the comeback!
Villa Park fell dead silent. Not a single sound could be heard from the home end.
Aston Villa's die-hard fans were dumbfounded, clutching their heads in sheer disbelief.
They stared at the pitch with shocked, hollow expressions.
"Derby County has done it!" Gary Weaver announced on the Sky Sports broadcast. "Four to three! A stunning reversal! A late goal from Florian Jozefzoon!"
"The speed of that counter-attack was devastating," Don Goodman added. "Jozefzoon left his marker in the dust. The pressure shifts right back to Aston Villa. Currently sitting sixth, if they throw this match away, their hopes of winning the league title take a massive hit."
"Derby County has always been a team known for this kind of setup," Weaver noted. "Strong in offense, vulnerable at the back. They rank fourth in the Championship for goals scored, but first in goals conceded. It is a true 'kill or be killed' tactical philosophy."
"If Aston Villa wants to salvage anything at home tonight, there's only one way," Goodman replied.
"They have to defeat their opponent's attack with an even stronger offense."
On social media, Aston Villa fans furiously flooded their feeds.
"No way. Are we really going to lose this?"
"Don't mess this up! The Norwegian national team coach is watching from the stands! If we lose, does it ruin Theo's chances of a call-up?"
"Our defense is a fucking joke! They are going to drag Theodore down with them sooner or later!"
"Have some faith! Theo can still create an equalizer!"
"As expected. The moment we fall behind, the haters come crawling out."
"Stop arguing, for fuck's sake! Just watch the game!"
The 88th minute.
At the edge of Derby County's penalty area, Theodore Bjorn received the ball.
It was a short pass from Grealish.
Earlier, Grealish had used a step-over on the left flank, drawing the attention of two Derby midfielders.
This left Theodore with a pocket of space in the center.
Without hesitation, Grealish slipped the ball inside.
But Derby County's defenders had learned their lesson. After nearly ninety minutes of play, they were well aware of the teenager's danger.
They were not going to give Theodore a chance to shoot.
As soon as he touched the ball, two center-backs rushed him.
Curtis Davies and Fikayo Tomori.
They coordinated their defense swiftly, throwing themselves forward to block his shooting angles.
But their panic was in vain.
Theodore Bjorn had never intended to shoot from the very beginning. His long-range shooting attribute was a pitiful 69.
Even if they gave him the space, he knew he probably wouldn't hit the target anyway.
Theodore Bjorn clearly knew his own limits.
He had no intention of shooting. Since taking a shot was off the table, the natural choice was a pass.
Boom!
A lofted pass off his right foot was launched!
The ball floated beautifully over the heads of the two Derby County center-backs, dropping straight into the danger zone toward the goal.
Right in front of Derby's net, Tammy Abraham was already waiting. This time, he had learned his lesson. As soon as the ball dropped into his path, he swung his boot.
No hesitation, just a ruthless, decisive finish.
His technique was spot on!
The ball stayed low and flew right past Derby County goalkeeper Scott Carson into the net.
Goal!
Just as Abraham was about to rip off his shirt in celebration, the linesman raised his flag.
"Offside?" Gary Weaver called out on the Sky Sports broadcast.
"The linesman has his flag up! The referee has disallowed the goal. What a massive shame for Villa!"
The broadcast immediately showed the slow-motion replay.
It was painfully clear.
At the exact moment Theodore played the pass, Abraham had leaned a fraction too far forward.
He was half a body length offside.
On the Aston Villa bench, John Terry looked gutted.
Up in the stands, Villa's actual manager, Dean Smith, could only shake his head in utter frustration.
During the match against West Brom, Smith had received a straight red card for screaming at the referee.
Afterward, the FA slapped him with an extra one-game ban for running his mouth about the officials during the press conference.
So, for the last two matches, Smith was stuck in the stands, unable to manage from the touchline.
"John! Make a fucking substitution! Make a change now!" Smith barked into his phone.
"Bring on McGinn! Bring on Jedinak! Get those two wingers off! Switch us back to the 4-1-4-1 formation!"
After pacing around the VIP box for a few seconds, Smith had called Terry to relay the emergency instructions.
Aston Villa was changing tactics.
"In the 89th minute, the home side is finally making a double substitution," Weaver observed.
"They are withdrawing both wingers, Albert Adomah and Anwar El Ghazi. Mile Jedinak and John McGinn are coming on."
"Don, what is Aston Villa's strategy here?" Weaver asked his co-commentator. "Trailing by a goal at home, they've actually taken off two attackers and brought on two central midfielders!"
Don Goodman immediately provided the tactical breakdown. "Looking at this match, Gary, neither Adomah on the left nor El Ghazi on the right has really performed to their true potential today. To some extent, Aston Villa just isn't suited to playing this 4-3-3 formation right now. To salvage a point or push for a win, Dean Smith has no choice but to revert to his trusted 4-1-4-1 setup."
As soon as Goodman finished speaking, the two substitutes made an instant impact.
Jedinak and McGinn hunted down the ball and stole it right off Mason Mount's toes.
In this match, Mount had already recorded a goal and two assists, almost single-handedly playing the role of Derby's savior.
This had pumped the youngster full of confidence.
Aside from facing heavy pressure from Theodore, Mount was playing with a lot of swagger.
This instance was no exception.
Up front, when winger Florian Jozefzoon found himself surrounded by multiple Villa players, he had no room to run. He had to lay the ball back to Mount in the central area.
Seeing this, Jedinak and McGinn immediately charged like rabid dogs toward Mount's position.
Instead of releasing the ball quickly, Mount tried to be clever.
He dragged the ball with his left foot, attempting to dance his way out of the double-team.
Unfortunately for the Chelsea loanee, he was a bit too cocky.
Both McGinn and Jedinak were gritty, defensive-minded players, and having just come off the bench, their legs were fresh.
In contrast, although Mount was also a substitute, he had come on at halftime and had been running himself into the ground for 45 minutes.
His stamina was naturally fading.
Most importantly, Aston Villa had the numbers. McGinn pressed the ball fiercely, while Jedinak threw his heavy frame into a physical shoulder-to-shoulder challenge.
Together, they bullied Mount and successfully stripped him of possession.
"Interception!" Weaver shouted. "McGinn violently robs Mount of the ball! He looks up and plays a short pass to Theodore Bjorn near the center circle!"
Up in the gantry, Weaver leaned closer to his monitor, knowing the teenager was about to do something special with his passing vision.
Standing near the halfway line, Theodore received McGinn's pass.
He took a split second to scan his teammates' forward runs, and the very next moment, he launched a sweeping ball forward.
Theodore's pass bypassed several scrambling Derby midfielders like a guided missile, dropping beautifully into the left channel of the penalty area.
Waiting for it was Theodore's good mate, the Aston Villa academy golden boy, Jack Grealish.
Derby County's panicked defense was entirely focused on marking Tammy Abraham, ignoring Grealish making a late run.
So, the Villa captain had acres of space to operate.
Grealish killed the ball softly with his right foot.
As veteran full-back Ashley Cole rushed over to close him down, Grealish dropped his shoulder, shifted the ball slightly forward to create a yard of space... and took the shot!
Boom!
The ball blasted off his laces like a cannonball, ripping right past Scott Carson and crashing into the back of the net.
4-4!
Aston Villa had equalized!
The previously silent Villa Park erupted into madness.
The deafening roar of Jack Grealish's name echoed violently around the stadium.
Of course, a huge chunk of the fans were also screaming Theodore's name for that god-tier assist.
"Goal! What a bloody goal!" Weaver roared over the crowd noise. "In the 90th minute! The final minute of regular time, Aston Villa's number 10, Jack Grealish, levels the score! Four-four! Tonight's match has truly been a thrilling goal fest!"
"And Theodore Bjorn secures his third assist of the night," Goodman added. "What a game!"
At that moment, the fourth official on the touchline raised the electronic board for added time.
Six minutes!
Aston Villa and Derby County still had six minutes of pure agony left to find a winner.
After the restart, both Frank Lampard and John Terry were screaming hysterically from their technical areas, waving their arms at their players.
They demanded their squads throw everything forward and create one last threat.
'Go all out.'
The real, gritty test for both teams had arrived.
In the 92nd minute, Aston Villa, riding a massive wave of momentum, launched a deadly attack.
Theodore pinged a long cross-field pass from the midfield, perfectly picking out Grealish on the left wing.
Grealish held up play for a second before slipping the ball down the line to the overlapping left-back, Ahmed Elmohamady.
The Aston Villa defender didn't hesitate.
The second he received it, he whipped a vicious cross into the box!
Thump!
Deep inside the Derby penalty area, three Aston Villa players had successfully muscled their way into position.
Tammy Abraham, John McGinn, and Theodore Bjorn!