Fernandinho, drawing on his deep well of match experience, refused to dive in.
The veteran Brazilian shadowed the teenager closely, jockeying and waiting for a mistake rather than committing to a rash tackle.
Theodore threw a few sharp step-overs, testing the waters. He realized fast that even with Grealish's elite dribbling skills in his locker, shaking a defender of Fernandinho's caliber wouldn't be a walk in the park.
Sensing the City midfield closing the net from behind, Theodore abandoned the solo run.
He zipped a sharp ground pass straight to striker Wesley, who was posting up at the top of the penalty arc.
It was a brilliant, pragmatic decision.
With John Stones breathing down his neck, the big Brazilian striker didn't force a turn.
He held the ball up, using his body as a shield, scanning the periphery for Theodore's movement.
He didn't wait long.
Two seconds later, Theodore surged in from the wing, bursting into the space beside Wesley.
Wesley laid it off—a deft, telepathic one-two.
Fernandinho sensed the danger and threw his body into a desperate sliding block, but he was a fraction of a second too late.
Meeting the layoff in stride, Theodore pulled the trigger.
Another strike from distance!
The ball exploded off his laces, tearing through the Manchester air like a cruise missile!
Stones, Fernandinho, Ederson—the world-class shot-stopper guarding the City net—none of them stood a chance.
Boom!
The ball ripped into the top corner of the net!
"A HAT-TRICK!" Peter Drury screamed over the Sky Sports broadcast, his voice cracking with adrenaline.
"ANOTHER ROCKET FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX! THEODORE BJORN SCORES HIS THIRD OF THE NIGHT!"
"Oh my word! The sheer power behind that strike!" Gary Neville yelled. "Ederson is one of the elite keepers in world football, and he didn't even blink!"
"3-2! ASTON VILLA TAKE THE LEAD AT THE ETIHAD!"
Drury's voice was growing hoarse, but he kept shouting the teenager's name.
Down on the pitch, Theodore finally let his emotions erupt.
He didn't jog back to the center circle this time. He sprinted toward the corner flag, pumping his fists at the television cameras!
Within seconds, his teammates mobbed him, burying the teenager in a chaotic euphoric pile-up to celebrate the comeback.
Meanwhile, on global streams and social media timelines, the fanbase was having a meltdown.
@Villan82: "Incredible! I knew he had it in him! What a monster!"
@EPL_Scout: "Is this real? Two long-range bangers and a bullet header. He is destroying the champions in their own backyard!"
@BlueMoonCrying: "Ederson didn't even get a hand to it... City only conceded six goals in the first nine games. We've shipped three to one kid in 45 minutes."
@FootballFanatic: "Hand him the Golden Boot right now! His ability is on a different planet!"
On the touchline, Pep Guardiola rubbed his bald head, letting out a heavy sigh.
He hadn't expected Villa to be this ruthless, nor had he anticipated a seventeen-year-old tearing his defense apart with a first-half hat-trick.
Pep's emotions were a mess.
Ever since the summer window opened, he had pleaded with the City board to sign the teenager.
City's sporting director tabled multiple massive bids, but Villa slammed the door every time, labeling him untouchable.
Watching the kid dismantle his team, Pep knew Villa had made the right call.
...
After the restart, the Etihad was eerily quiet.
Apart from the small pocket of away fans chanting Theodore's name, the City supporters looked shell-shocked.
The City players didn't look much better. They seemed dazed, misplacing simple passes as the halftime whistle loomed.
Deep into stoppage time, Theodore intercepted the ball right off İlkay Gündoğan's toes. He threaded a rapid through ball up to Wesley.
Unfortunately, the Brazilian's first touch was too heavy, allowing John Stones to step in and boot it into the stands.
As the ball flew out of bounds, the referee blew the whistle for halftime.
Playing away in the hardest fixture of the season, Aston Villa took a 3-2 lead into the tunnel, thanks to Theodore's heroics.
...
During the break, the English press went into a frenzy.
Sky Sports: "A 17-year-old creates a miracle! Three goals to stun Manchester City at home! Guardiola's defense has been torn to shreds in a chaotic first half!"
The Athletic: "This is Theodore Bjorn's world, and we're just living in it. The Norwegian sensation has silenced the Etihad. A genuine superstar is rising in the Premier League!"
The Times: "An unimaginable scoreline! It isn't the forwards doing the damage, it's a teenage midfielder! Villa leads City 3-2 in a breathless goal fest!"
Online, the hype was reaching fever pitch.
Clips of the hat-trick racked up thousands of views in minutes.
@FootyTalk: "A great player doesn't need hype! Give him the Ballon d'Or already!"
@NeutralFan: "A newly promoted team leading the defending champions 3-2 away... football is beautiful."
@TacticsNerd: "First time I've ever seen Pep look that dejected. Theo is redefining the midfield role."
Inside the City dressing room, Guardiola wasn't throwing teacups.
He was a footballing workaholic, when problems arose, he solved them instead of complaining.
"We have to lock down their number 33!" Pep barked, tapping his tactics board. "He is penetrating our lines with his footwork, but the crucial thing is stopping his distribution! İlkay, I need you glued to him. Watch his positioning!"
Pep shifted his focus to the forwards. "Pay attention to the spacing! When Bernardo attacks the wing, the opposite winger must crash the penalty area, and someone needs to be waiting at the edge of the box for the cutback!"
He looked around the silent room, meeting his players' eyes. "If you want to retain your Premier League title, you win this match. Period."
...
Fifteen minutes later, the second half kicked off.
Despite trailing, Guardiola made no substitutions.
He trusted his starting eleven to fix the mess.
The intensity skyrocketed. The midfield became a warzone, with possession changing hands violently.
Eventually, a sweeping long pass from Kevin De Bruyne allowed City to shift the battle to the right flank.
The ball found Bernardo Silva.
The Portuguese playmaker was having a blinding game.
While he didn't have Sterling's explosive pace, his agility, close control, and rhythm changes were arguably superior.
Bernardo drove at the Villa defense, utilizing a series of rapid, stuttering feints to twist two defenders inside out before driving toward the byline.
Boom!
He whipped an in-swinging cross across the face of the goal.
It was a nightmare delivery.
The ball dropped into the "Corridor of Uncertainty"—the lethal gap between the center-backs and the goalkeeper.
A sky-blue blur flashed across the six-yard box.
Gabriel Jesus!
The Brazilian striker accelerated, throwing his right boot at the ball for a point-blank finish.
But Jesus's luck was out.
The ball cannoned directly into the waiting arms of Tom Heaton.
The Villa keeper didn't hesitate. He scrambled to his feet and bowled a massive throw out to Theodore hugging the touchline.
A collective gasp rippled through the Etihad as the teenager controlled the ball.
Everyone knew what he was capable of tonight.
Guardiola sprinted to the edge of his technical area, screaming.
"PRESS HIM! GET ON HIM NOW!"
In a flash, Gündoğan and David Silva swarmed Theodore, trapping him against the sideline.
Theodore hit stops.
He dragged the ball back with his left foot, attempting to spin out of the double-team and embarrassed the two City.
But it didn't work.
Gündoğan and Silva were elite, experienced Premier League operators.
While Theodore managed to shake off Bernardo's initial pressure, he couldn't bypass Gündoğan's physical challenge.
The German stuck a foot in, stripping the ball away.
"Intercepted!" Drury cried. "The teenager loses the ball! That's the quality of this City midfield—anyone else, and Bjorn dances right through them."
But before the groan of disappointment could settle in the away end, the situation flipped.
Theodore didn't stand around complaining.
The second he lost the ball, he bit down on his mouthguard, tracked back at full speed, and launched himself into a ferocious sliding tackle right on Gündoğan's blind side!
He hooked the ball clean away!
Having regained possession, Theodore didn't try to dribble again.
He picked his head up and launched a curling long pass straight over the top of City's high defensive line.
The massive swerving ball sailed over John Stones and dropped into the path of Wesley, who had beaten the offside trap.
"What a pass!" Drury roared. "He splits the City defense wide open! Wesley is clean through!"
Inside the penalty area, Wesley killed the ball with his left foot, took a quick glance at Ederson and drew his right boot back to finish the job.
But the Brazilian striker underestimated Ederson's sweeping speed.
At the exact moment Wesley went to shoot, the City keeper had already rushed out, throwing his body spread-eagle at Wesley's feet.
The rushed shot smashed off Ederson's chest and deflected away!
However, Villa's midfield cavalry was arriving fast.
The loose ball was scooped up by a claret and blue shirt. Theodore had sprinted the length of the pitch to join the attack.
Just as Theodore prepared to launch another pass, the City defense collapsed on him.
Gündoğan, desperate to make amends, threw himself in front of the teenager.
Following Pep's halftime orders, the German was sticking to Theodore like glue.
Seeing the teenager load up for another dangerous ball, Gündoğan lunged in to block the passing lane.
The intense pressure forced Theodore to abandon his initial plan, but his elite vision spotted a secondary route.
Instead of going long, he opened his foot and slid a disguised ground pass into the center of the penalty where Jack Grealish was waiting.
Receiving the ball in a lethal position, the Villa captain's first instinct was obvious.
He took a touch, looked at the corners and drew his right leg back to smash it.
John Stones read the danger.
The City center-back threw his body into the line of fire, sliding to block the impending rocket.
But it was a dummy!
Grealish didn't shoot.
He faked the strike, fooled Stones, and instead scooped a delicate chip over the sliding defender and straight into the penalty area!
Theodore, who had started the move on the flank, continued his run and ghosted unmarked into the box.
"WHAT A CHANCE!" Drury screamed.