In the 44th minute, Theodore aggressively pushed up from his central midfield role, surging directly into the Sevilla penalty box.
At that moment, Toni Kroos collected the ball 40 yards out.
As Theodore's midfield partner, Kroos understood the teenager's physical dominance perfectly.
Bang!
Kroos did not hesitate.
Without taking a touch, he launched a pinpoint, lofted pass straight into the crowded penalty area.
Seconds later, the ball dropped into the danger zone.
Just as Theodore prepared to launch himself into the air, Sevilla's own aerial monster, Luuk de Jong, stepped directly into his path.
The 189-centimeter striker jumped at the exact same time as Theodore.
Simultaneously, Jules Koundé crashed into Theodore's side.
A coordinated double-team.
Sevilla's defending was ruthlessly targeted.
Koundé and Luuk de Jong marked Theodore together. If the player attacking the header had been anyone else, the cross would have been cleared easily.
But the player attacking the ball was Theodore Bjorn.
He was the strongest physical presence on the pitch, and arguably the most dominant aerial player in world football.
Facing the aggressive double-team, Theodore did not yield an inch. His competitive fire only burned hotter.
The instant the ball arrived, Theodore used his immense core strength to physically absorb Luuk de Jong's challenge.
On top of that, Theodore's anticipation was flawless; he had already established the superior position.
That made the situation critical for Sevilla's defenders.
Luuk de Jong and Koundé both knew they were losing the physical battle.
In desperation, as they leaped, both defenders resorted to cynical, dark arts to stop the teenager.
Realizing Theodore was about to win the header and score his hat-trick, Luuk de Jong simply abandoned the ball and wrapped both of his massive arms tightly around Theodore's torso, physically wrestling him back to the ground.
Because he was being violently hauled down by De Jong, Theodore was prevented from making contact with the ball.
Sevilla goalkeeper Bounou rushed off his line and caught the dropping cross.
The next second, the Sevilla keeper immediately launched the ball forward with a massive kick, trying to trigger a quick counterattack.
But at that exact moment, the referee blew his whistle sharply.
He placed his finger to his earpiece.
The VAR (Video Assistant Referee) room was reviewing the incident.
There was a massive suspicion of a foul by Luuk de Jong inside the box.
"The referee has stopped play!" Palmer announced. "VAR is reviewing an incident in the penalty area. It looks like Sevilla may have committed a foul on Theodore Bjorn."
"Could this be a penalty right before halftime?" Gibson wondered. "When you look at the replay, Luuk de Jong completely abandons the ball and clearly wrestles Theodore to the ground. It's a blatant rugby tackle."
On the pitch, the Sevilla fans recognized the danger and immediately began whistling and jeering, accusing the referee of bias.
Luuk de Jong rushed toward the referee, wildly protesting his innocence with an aggrieved expression, insisting it was mutual contact.
But the referee ignored his protests.
He ran straight to the pitch-side monitor to review the footage himself.
In the slow-motion replay, Luuk de Jong's two-handed grapple on Theodore was undeniable.
After only a brief glance at the monitor, the referee turned, jogged back onto the pitch, and pointed emphatically to the penalty spot.
Just seconds before the halftime whistle, Real Madrid had been awarded a penalty!
"Penalty! It's a penalty!"
"The referee has pointed to the spot!"
"From the slow-motion replay, we can clearly see that Luuk de Jong had both arms wrapped around Theodore! There's no doubt about this one—it's a penalty!"
"The referee made the right call!"
Rob Palmer was fired up in the broadcast booth, but the Sevilla fans inside the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán completely lost their minds.
They began furiously raining abuse down on the referee. But no matter how much the home crowd protested, the decision was final.
Theodore Bjorn stood over the penalty spot.
After placing the ball carefully, he took a few deliberate steps back.
On the goal line, Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou looked unusually calm. He seemed very confident in his ability to read penalty takers!
Peep!
A few seconds later, the referee blew his whistle.
Theodore did not take the penalty immediately.
Instead, he locked eyes with Bounou.
The stand behind the goal happened to be where Sevilla's most diehard ultras were gathered, so the moment Theodore prepared to take the kick, massive boos and abuse rained down from behind the net. Some fans even started jumping around and waving objects, hoping to break the teenager's focus.
Theodore's expression remained as calm as still water.
He was entirely unfazed.
"Bounou is excellent at saving penalties. Theodore cannot be careless here!" Palmer said.
"His conversion rate is one hundred percent, Rob," Terry Gibson added. "But too many great players have fallen at the twelve-yard line. The pressure is immense."
After pausing for roughly five seconds, Theodore finally began his run-up.
At the same time, Bounou started shifting his weight on the goal line, ready to dive.
The instant Theodore swung his right foot, he actually paused for the briefest fraction of a microsecond.
That tiny stutter made Bounou commit first.
Seeing Bounou's center of gravity tilt violently toward the left corner, Theodore immediately clipped the ball softly down the middle.
A Panenka.
The ball floated gracefully into the center of the net as Bounou scrambled helplessly on the turf.
3–2!
"A PANENKA!" Palmer roared. "The absolute audacity! The ball is in!"
"Theodore has completely humiliated Bounou and scored!"
"As expected of a big-game player, Theodore's penalty was unbelievably composed!"
Although the commentators were fired up, Theodore himself showed no change in expression.
Even though Real Madrid had retaken the lead, Theodore was not satisfied with his teammates' performance.
With Madrid's strength, even without him dominating the scoresheet, they should still have had enough quality to control Sevilla.
But tonight, Madrid's players had been sluggish.
The defense was porous.
The forwards were blunt.
That left Theodore both disappointed and visibly frustrated.
He did not want to be Real Madrid's savior in every single match.
More than anything, he wanted his teammates to elevate their own standards.
After Theodore scored the penalty, the referee blew the whistle for halftime.
Back in the dressing room, Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane was just as furious with his players' first-half performance.
"Hey! All of you, wake up!" Zidane snapped, clapping his hands loudly. "Your first-half performance was unacceptable! Yes, we are leading, but if we play the second half the same way we played the first, we will lose this match!"
"Sevilla are not a weak team! They have plenty of quality, and tonight we are playing at their home ground! We have absolutely no right to be arrogant!"
"If any of you don't want to run, tell me right now. I will sub you off!"
Zidane gave the Madrid players a harsh dressing-down.
Apart from Theodore, none of the Real Madrid players had performed to the required standard.
...
After the second half began, Sevilla's attack started to surge again.
Their attacking plan was simple and direct: send the ball into the box and maximize Luuk de Jong's height advantage against Varane and Nacho.
In the first half, Sevilla had already scored twice using that exact method.
In the 48th minute, Ivan Rakitić received the ball on the right flank.
He lifted his head, spotted Luuk de Jong's movement, and immediately crossed.
As Sevilla's tempo-setter, Rakitić's passing technique was elite. The delivery dropped almost perfectly onto Luuk de Jong's head.
Inside the box, Madrid's two center-backs gave everything they had to stop him, but they still allowed the tall Dutch striker to win the header.
Fortunately for Madrid, De Jong's effort drifted just wide of the post.
After seeing the fragility of his center-backs, Theodore let out a helpless sigh. Then, he actively began dropping deeper into the defensive line.
Five minutes later, Sevilla's attack came again.
This time, it was captain Jesús Navas who delivered the cross from the right.
The ball once again floated perfectly above Luuk de Jong.
Only this time, the Madrid player responsible for marking De Jong had changed.
It was Theodore. And he was marking him man-to-man.
Luuk de Jong prepared to jump, but Theodore used his superior leaping ability and core strength to get there first, powering the header away cleanly and decisively.
"Clearance!" Palmer noted. "Theodore clears it with his head! He has dropped all the way into the defensive line to handle this aerial bombardment!"
"Having Theodore mark Luuk de Jong directly is definitely the right choice from Zidane," Gibson added.
"He completely neutralized him there."
Sevilla's players refused to adjust.
Over the next stretch of play, Sevilla attempted three more crosses from the flanks, searching for De Jong.
Without exception, all three deliveries were headed clear by Theodore.
Only then did Lopetegui realize that trying to bully Real Madrid aerially was no longer viable with Theodore patrolling the box.
He had no choice but to change tactics.
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