After scoring, Abraham was ecstatic.
He sprinted dozens of yards toward the corner flag before sliding on his knees in celebration.
Not long after, several Villa players piled on top of him, nearly crushing the goal-scoring hero in a pile of claret and blue.
While the Aston Villa players celebrated, Pep Guardiola immediately turned to his bench.
He was bringing on two players in quick succession.
Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Agüero stripped off their tracksuits and stood by the touchline.
The moment Theodore accurately passed the ball to Abraham, the world-renowned coach realized the severity of the situation.
He had underestimated Aston Villa's resilience.
He had underestimated Theodore's ability.
"Guardiola can no longer sit still," Tyler observed. "He's made his first adjustments. Kevin De Bruyne is on, replacing the underperforming Fabian Delph. And the Argentine star, Sergio Agüero, replaces Gabriel Jesus."
"Guardiola's intention is very clear here," Neville added. "Manchester City is about to step up through the gears. He still wants to secure this FA Cup tie without a replay. The next fifteen minutes or so will be a massive test for Aston Villa's defense."
After the restart, Manchester City wasted no time.
They immediately launched an attack.
In central midfield, Kevin De Bruyne, fresh onto the pitch, received a pass from Agüero and immediately threaded a signature through ball.
The ball zipped across the turf, reaching Raheem Sterling's feet.
However, this time, Sterling didn't try to dribble.
He passed the ball right away, spreading the play wide again.
The ball ended up with Benjamin Mendy.
The left-back pushed high into the attacking third, with no Aston Villa players around to immediately pressure him.
A second later, Mendy suddenly whipped in a deep, curling cross. The ball flew into the Aston Villa penalty area, dropping dangerously toward the far post.
Sergio Agüero and Tyrone Mings both jumped for it.
But unfortunately for City, Agüero is only around 170cm, while Mings stands at a towering 196cm.
There was no way the Argentine could win the ball over Mings' head.
Mings successfully cleared the ball with a booming header.
The ball flew out toward the edge of the penalty area.
Theodore Bjorn and Kevin De Bruyne both charged toward the landing spot.
In an instant, the two playmakers collided heavily.
To be fair, Kevin De Bruyne's ability to hold his own in a duel isn't bad at all.
At the very least, in this particular challenge, he went toe-to-toe with Theodore Bjorn.
De Bruyne had just come on as a substitute, while Theodore had already been playing for nearly seventy minutes. In terms of physical fitness, the teenager was at a clear disadvantage against the fresh legs of the Belgian.
In the subsequent tussle, De Bruyne gained the upper hand.
With the arrival of İlkay Gündoğan for support, the two combined to dispossess Theodore.
Manchester City kept their attack alive.
After De Bruyne controlled the loose ball, he didn't hesitate and took a shot with his left foot.
Thump.
Although it isn't his dominant foot, the quality of the strike was very high. It was a low-driven effort, staying tight to the turf and heading straight for the bottom corner.
Fortunately for Aston Villa, goalkeeper Lovre Kalinić was fully focused.
He made a sharp diving save, pushing De Bruyne's long-range effort away from danger.
The second ball was gathered by an Aston Villa defender.
Center-back Ciaran Clark wasn't in a hurry to launch a counter. Instead, he leisurely passed the ball to Conor Hourihane in the middle.
Hourihane then laid it off to full-back Alan Hutton.
Aston Villa's players had a clear objective: run down the clock as much as possible through possession.
After all, it was Villa who were in the lead!
Unexpectedly, Manchester City's forwards initiated a fierce high press. In a flash, Sergio Agüero, Bernardo Silva, and De Bruyne swarmed Hutton.
The Aston Villa full-back couldn't react in time, and the ball was stripped from his feet.
"De Bruyne wins it back," Martin Tyler announced on the Sky Sports broadcast. "The Belgian international dispossesses Hutton in a dangerous area. This is a sudden counter-attacking opportunity for Manchester City."
Just as Tyler finished speaking, De Bruyne showcased his elite passing technique.
He launched a raking long pass straight into the Villa penalty area.
Two seconds later, the ball dropped to Riyad Mahrez. In the inside channel of the box, Mahrez weaved and dodged, changing direction to unbalance the defense.
Neil Taylor was the first to mark him, but center-back Tyrone Mings and midfielder Mile Jedinak quickly charged over to help.
With too many defenders crowding the penalty area, Mahrez couldn't find an opening to break through.
Left with no choice, he opted to pass it backward toward the top of the box.
Right at that moment, De Bruyne arrived on the scene.
Eager to score, he didn't bother taking a touch to control it. He met the pass with a fierce first-time strike.
Bang!
It was a powerful shot.... the only pity for City was that De Bruyne's aim was a fraction too precise, causing the ball to crash directly into the junction of the post and crossbar.
"Once again, the woodwork denies Manchester City!" Tyler cried out. "Their luck tonight has been rotten. If I'm not mistaken, that is already the third time City has hit the post."
On the Manchester City bench, Pep Guardiola held his head in his hands, his eyes filled with frustration.
And what made Guardiola feel even more helpless was yet to come.
After Tyrone Mings gathered the rebound, he didn't engage in pointless back-passing in the defensive third.
Instead, he looked up and immediately fired the ball to Theodore in the central midfield.
In an instant, Aston Villa launched a counterattack.
Upon receiving the ball, Theodore didn't hesitate. He delivered a swift pass out to Jack Grealish on the wing.
Manchester City's midfield defense vanished in that transition.
Since Fabian Delph had been substituted off, and his replacement, De Bruyne, was focused on attacking, Theodore was left unchecked.
This allowed him to orchestrate the pass with ease.
Grealish carried the ball into the attacking third, though the City defenders had already recovered. Full-back Danilo and center-back Aymeric Laporte simultaneously pressured the Villa captain.
Grealish understood his limits, he couldn't shake off the combined pressure from two top-tier defenders in such a short window.
He had only one viable option.
He passed the ball.
The pass rolled right to the edge of the penalty area, where target man Tammy Abraham brought it under control.
The only defender left between Abraham and the goal was Nicolas Otamendi.
Abraham pushed the ball forward, driving into the penalty area and used his body to shield the ball from the Argentine center-back.
"Abraham is in here," Tyler noted, his voice rising in anticipation. "Otamendi gives chase... and he shoves him down! Otamendi shoves Abraham to the ground!"
Just as the commentator described, when Abraham broke into the box and prepared to shoot, Otamendi lost his cool and shoved the striker from behind.
Since the foul occurred inside the area, it was a clear penalty.
Referee Anthony Taylor blew his whistle and pointed firmly to the penalty spot.
Aston Villa had earned their second penalty of the match!
At the same time, Taylor pulled out a yellow card.
Since Otamendi had already been booked earlier in the evening, he was sent off.
Gary Neville observed on the broadcast. "The Argentine center-back is sent off. Just as Manchester City was preparing to besiege the Villa goal, the match takes a dramatic turn. Otamendi is walking down the tunnel, and Aston Villa has a penalty. Could the Championship side really eliminate the defending champions tonight?"
On the Sky Sports live feed, fans were buzzing with excitement.
[Otamendi, well done! Haha, thank you for the penalty.]
[He really is a ticking time bomb at the back.]
[Looks like tonight's match is in the bag for Villa.]
[If I were Guardiola, I'd just abandon this match. Prioritizing the league and Champions League is what matters most anyway.]
[Aston Villa often gets the wrong end of refereeing decisions, but tonight, they finally benefit from one.]
[To the guy above, what do you mean? It was a clear foul. Nothing wrong with that penalty call.]
On the pitch, Jack Grealish once again stood at the twelve-yard spot.
The stadium held its collective breath.
Just like before, Grealish stared down Claudio Bravo, took a deep breath to steady his nerves, and then... fired directly!