After Courtois made the save, the ball dropped to Toni Kroos.
As Real Madrid's midfield tempo-setter, Kroos did not hesitate after taking control.
He immediately sent the ball out wide to Vinícius.
At the same time, Theodore had already successfully broken into Villarreal's penalty area.
If Vinícius could get the ball to Theodore, there was a very high chance it would immediately threaten Villarreal's goal.
But Vinícius did not do that.
Out wide, Vinícius shifted the ball with his right foot, then forced the acceleration.
He fully used his pace advantage and managed to break free.
At that moment, Villarreal's full-back had completely lost his position and had no way to stop Vinícius' advance.
In a flash, Vinícius successfully drove into Villarreal's penalty area.
"Vinícius!" Palmer exclaimed. "The shot! The ball flies straight into the stands!"
"That shot was outrageous," Gibson said. "It didn't even hit the target!"
Gibson continued, "Vinícius really shouldn't have chosen to shoot there. For him, the best option was obviously to pass. If he had played the ball to Theodore, I believe Theodore would have had no problem scoring."
In the stands at the Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal fans burst into cheers.
They used that reaction to try to affect Vinícius' mentality.
Before anyone knew it, the match had entered first-half stoppage time. There were three minutes of added time.
Through active pressing, Real Madrid midfielders Toni Kroos and Modrić successfully won the ball from Iborra near the center circle, with Kroos taking possession.
This time, Kroos did not choose to play the ball out wide. Instead, he launched it directly into the penalty area with one long pass.
It was obvious.
Kroos' target was Theodore.
Real Madrid wanted to make full use of Theodore's strength in the box to create danger.
Bang!
The ball dropped quickly into the penalty area.
At that exact moment, every Villarreal defender had their attention fixed entirely on Theodore Bjorn.
Mario Gaspar and Raúl Albiol closed in violently from either side, sandwiching the teenager between them.
When the ball arrived above Theodore's head, both veteran defenders jumped at almost the exact same time.
Unfortunately for them, Theodore's dominance in the air was far too terrifying.
On top of that, Toni Kroos' delivery and Theodore's movement had both been flawless.
The ball dropped right onto Theodore's forehead.
Using the momentum of his run, Theodore produced a stunning, powerful backward header, glancing the ball behind him with terrifying velocity.
In an instant, the ball flew past a rooted Sergio Asenjo and crashed into the Villarreal net.
Mario Gaspar and Albiol had both become nothing more than background figures for Theodore's masterpiece.
2–1.
"It's Theodore again!" Rob Palmer shouted. "Another headed goal from him!"
"Theodore Bjorn has helped Real Madrid turn the score around at the very end of the first half! His performance leading the line has been perfect!"
"Even as a makeshift center-forward, Theodore is absolute world-class!" Terry Gibson added.
"Neither Mario Gaspar nor Raúl Albiol could get anywhere near the ball in front of him!"
After Theodore scored his second goal, the Estadio de la Cerámica fell completely silent.
Twenty-four thousand Villarreal fans stared blankly at the pitch, as if they had forgotten how to breathe.
As Villarreal head coach Unai Emery stood on the touchline, he helplessly spread his hands in total surrender.
Although Emery knew his players had already done their absolute best, he was still deeply unhappy about conceding a goal of that nature.
After scoring, Theodore finally celebrated. He swung his fist excitedly, celebrating together with the traveling Real Madrid fans behind the goal.
The referee gave Villarreal no further opportunity.
After the restart, he blew the whistle for halftime.
Real Madrid, playing away from home, relied on Theodore's two towering headers to temporarily lead Villarreal 2–1!
...
Before the second half began, Villarreal immediately made two aggressive substitutions.
Takefusa Kubo and Yeremy Pino came on for Carlos Bacca and Moi Gómez.
"Takefusa Kubo and Yeremy Pino have both come on," Palmer noted. "It looks like Coach Emery wants to inject some youthful energy into Villarreal's attack. Kubo is currently only nineteen years old, while Pino is just eighteen."
"Kubo was once dubbed the 'Japanese Messi' during his time at Barcelona's academy," Gibson added.
"In the last match against Valencia, Theodore defeated the 'South Korean Messi,' Lee Kang-in. Today, he faces the Japanese version!"
After the second half began, Villarreal soon launched an intense attack toward the Real Madrid penalty area.
Tonight, Real Madrid's midfield pairing consisted of Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos.
Naturally, there was no problem with their technical chemistry, but defensively, the combination lacked bite.
On top of that, Ødegaard, who was playing as the attacking midfielder, did not possess elite defensive work rate.
Because of that, Madrid's midfield pressure was not especially strong.
As a result, Villarreal's players could circulate the ball fairly easily in the middle of the pitch.
Several Yellow Submarine players exchanged a rapid series of one-touch passes and successfully bypassed the defensive line of Kroos and Modrić.
In an instant, the ball arrived at Takefusa Kubo's feet.
Inside the Estadio de la Cerámica, the Villarreal fans immediately cheered for the young Japanese talent.
Like Messi, Kubo was heavily left-footed.
So after coming on, he took up a position on the right wing, allowing him to cut inside onto his stronger foot.
Gerard Moreno moved into the center-forward role.
This time, after Kubo received the ball, Real Madrid full-back Ferland Mendy and Modrić both rushed toward him simultaneously.
They clearly wanted to trap him and block his route inside.
But because Kubo had only just entered the match, his stamina was completely fresh. He fully displayed his technical qualities.
The ball seemed glued to his left foot as he executed several lightning-quick changes of direction.
Although Kubo's dribbling could not compare to the real Messi's, his rhythm and close control were still excellent.
Kubo spotted the microscopic gap between Mendy and Modrić and successfully slipped through it.
"Takefusa Kubo!" Palmer called out. "He's done brilliantly there! He has beaten both Ferland Mendy and Modrić in one silky move!"
Just as Kubo was about to drive toward the top of Real Madrid's penalty area, Toni Kroos arrived in time and blocked his route.
At that moment, Kubo could either force the dribble or choose to pass.
On the opposite flank, Yeremy Pino had already started accelerating, while inside Madrid's box, Gerard Moreno was ready to attack a cross.
Kubo didn't hesitate. With his left foot, he clipped a beautiful, floated pass across the pitch.
Bang!
In an instant, the ball arrived on the left wing, dropping perfectly into the stride of Yeremy Pino on the edge of the penalty area.
Villarreal began to lay a heavy siege to the Real Madrid goal.
Seeing that his team was in deep trouble, Theodore, who had been stationed up front, sprinted back to help.
On the left flank, Yeremy Pino was being confronted by Dani Carvajal.
At his peak, Carvajal had been regarded as the best right-back in the world. His pace and defensive tenacity had been elite.
Although Carvajal was slightly past his physical prime, he was still full of confidence facing the teenage Pino.
The moment Pino controlled the ball, Carvajal rushed aggressively in front of him.
Seeing the veteran commit, Pino chose to pass immediately.
Only this time, he did not cross into the box. Instead, he played a smart cutback toward the top of the penalty arc.
The player arriving to meet it was Manu Trigueros.
Trigueros had the ability to shoot from range. He didn't hesitate, immediately pulling his leg back to strike the ball first time.
But just as he was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly felt a massive force slam into his side.
He crashed violently to the turf.
It turned out that at the exact moment Trigueros shaped to shoot, Theodore had arrived like a freight train, colliding with him heavily from the side.
Because Theodore had used a legal, shoulder-to-shoulder charge, it counted as normal physical contact.
The referee rightly waved play on.
Immediately afterward, Theodore hooked the loose ball away.
Real Madrid's counterattack had arrived!