When the score reached 1-2, the pressure instantly shifted onto the Aston Villa players.
However, even though the team was trailing, the Villa Park faithful never stopped roaring.
The Holte End was in full voice, chanting Theodore Bjorn's name.
Whenever the team faced a desperate situation, the fans instinctively turned to their teenage talisman.
And Theodore was ready to prove he was fully capable of saving them.
After the restart, Wesley received the ball and knocked it to Grealish.
Instantly, Riyad Mahrez and David Silva sprinted at full speed to close the Villa captain down.
Guardiola's men were relentlessly executing a high press in the attacking third. Manchester City clearly smelled blood and wanted a third goal to kill the match.
Under immense pressure, Grealish hurriedly recycled possession backward.
After a nervous series of passes across the Villa backline, the ball eventually found its way to Theodore Bjorn.
The moment the ball touched his boot, the cheers from the stands grew several decibels louder.
In the broadcast booth, Peter Drury's voice rose with anticipation.
"Theodore Bjorn on the ball... the crowd anticipates. What magic can he conjure now?"
In a flash, João Cancelo and Rodri converged on the teenager.
Theodore knew their capabilities intimately. At this crucial moment deep in his own half, he didn't attempt a risky dribble to escape the trap.
He opted for the safest, most conventional approach.
A pass.
Theodore instantly swept a raking long pass toward the attacking third.
The ball dropped precisely onto Wesley's head.
However, the Brazilian striker was entirely outmuscled by Fernandinho in the aerial duel and failed to bring the ball under control.
Possession was surrendered back to Manchester City.
On the touchline, Dean Smith frantically signaled his players to drop back.
The Villa manager was experienced enough to know how terrifying City's attacking efficiency could be in transition.
To survive, they needed every man behind the ball.
Following Smith's instructions, the Villa players retreated into a compact defensive block in their own half.
However, Guardiola's machine was built to dismantle such setups.
The ball found Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian maestro didn't hesitate, launching a stunning, sweeping overhead pass across the width of the pitch.
The ball traveled at an incredible speed, tracing a beautiful arc before dropping perfectly into the stride of left-back Benjamin Mendy.
By the time Mendy controlled the ball, Ahmed Elmohamady was caught out of position.
Mendy immediately drove a vicious, low cross into the box.
The ball skidded across the turf with terrifying pace, arriving at the feet of Gabriel Jesus in the blink of an eye.
Just as the Brazilian prepared to pull the trigger, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa threw their bodies on the line, rushing to smother the shot.
The desperate double-block succeeded. Jesus's effort thudded against Mings' shins and deflected to safety.
"Brilliant defending!" Jim Beglin noted. "But if Jesus had possessed the awareness to dummy that pass, Sergio Agüero was waiting completely unmarked at the far post. City missed a golden opportunity there."
"They are knocking on the door, Jim," Drury replied. "You feel a third goal is only a matter of time given the relentless pressure."
Five minutes later, the City onslaught continued.
This time, David Silva initiated the attack.
As the Spanish wizard controlled the ball in midfield, he was instantly swarmed by Villa players.
Before kickoff, Dean Smith had issued explicit tactical instructions: McGinn and Douglas Luiz were to shadow David Silva relentlessly, denying him any time on the ball.
As soon as Silva took a touch, the two Villa midfielders collapsed on him.
But David Silva is a master of tight spaces.
Surrounded by two aggressive challengers, 'El Mago' executed a breathtakingly graceful Marseille turn, pirouetting perfectly between McGinn and Luiz without breaking stride.
Emerging from the trap, Silva's vision took over.
He spotted Mahrez darting into open space on the right flank and instantly threaded a needle-eye through pass into the Algerian's path.
Silva's piece of individual brilliance had completely shattered Villa's defensive structure.
By the time the ball reached Mahrez, the backline was in disarray.
Mahrez was completely unmarked.
Taking a few touches to compose himself, Mahrez glanced at Nyland's positioning and unleashed a powerful, curling shot.
Bang!!
The venomous strike smashed flush against the goalpost and rebounded to safety!
"Off the woodwork!" Drury exclaimed. "Villa survive by the narrowest of margins!"
"The woodwork rescues the home side," Beglin added. "But they are living dangerously. They cannot keep giving players like Mahrez that much time and space."
Theodore Bjorn was equally frustrated.
He knew that if Villa didn't alter the flow of the game, they would inevitably concede again.
He had to step up.
In the 38th minute, Theodore actively dropped deep into his own half, demanding the ball from Tyrone Mings.
Mings happily obliged, rolling the ball into the teenager's feet.
However, Manchester City's tactical plan focused heavily on suffocating Theodore.
The moment he received the pass, both Jesus and Agüero sprinted toward him, aggressively applying physical pressure to force a turnover deep in Villa's half.
Theodore reacted a fraction of a second faster.
He pinged a quick pass forward to Grealish on the left flank.
Grealish received the ball but found himself instantly confronted by João Cancelo.
Aware of the Portuguese defender's defensive capabilities, Grealish opted against a risky dribble.
He played the sensible option, passing backward to John McGinn.
Meanwhile, Theodore had surged forward from his deep position, arriving in the center circle.
Seeing his teammate, McGinn felt a wave of relief and instantly zipped the ball to him.
This time, Theodore didn't look for a pass.
He decided to break the lines himself.
...
Theodore chose to drive forward because he recognized a rare, fleeting lapse in Manchester City's midfield structure.
The moment McGinn released the pass, not a single City player stepped up to apply immediate pressure.
The focus of the City midfield had momentarily wavered.
Theodore seized the opportunity. He accelerated violently.
He charged straight through the center circle, driving into the attacking third. Recognizing the danger, City's defensive anchor, Rodri, rushed out to confront him.
While Rodri was a formidable holding midfielder, he was about to be humiliated.
As he approached the Spaniard, Theodore raised his right foot, brilliantly feigning a pass out wide.
Rodri bought the dummy completely, instinctively stretching his leg to block the anticipated passing lane.
In a fraction of a second, Theodore chopped his foot down, flicking the ball cleanly between Rodri's open legs.
A devastating nutmeg!
"Oh, magnificent!" Drury roared as Theodore left Rodri stranded.
Bursting through the gap, Theodore arrived at the edge of the Manchester City penalty area.
Just as he prepared to unleash a shot, a desperate Rodri shoved him violently in the back, sending the teenager tumbling to the turf.
Referee Jon Moss blew his whistle instantly.
He reached into his pocket and produced a yellow card for Rodri.
A dangerous free-kick was awarded to Aston Villa, roughly 24 yards from goal.
According to Dean Smith's set-piece hierarchy, Jack Grealish was the designated taker for positions on the edge of the box.
Just as Grealish placed the ball on the turf, Theodore walked over.
"Jack, I'll take it."
Theodore wanted to test the devastating power of the newly acquired David Beckham Peak Free-Kick Card.
Recognizing the absolute confidence in the teenager's eyes, Grealish immediately stepped aside.
"Theo, have you been secretly practicing these too?" Grealish asked, half-joking.
"You'll see in a second," Theodore replied calmly.
He picked up the ball, readjusted its position on the grass, and took three measured steps backward, mirroring a very familiar, iconic stance.
In the broadcast booth, Peter Drury noted the change.
"Theodore Bjorn is standing over the ball. Now this is interesting. We haven't seen him take direct free-kicks in these areas before."
"It's usually Grealish," Beglin added. "Perhaps they've spotted something in Ederson's positioning, or maybe the youngster just fancies it. 24 yards out, slightly central. It's prime territory."
On the pitch, the referee blew the whistle.
Theodore began his run-up.
Villa Park fell into a hushed, breathless silence. Fifty thousand pairs of eyes were locked on the number 33.
He struck the ball with the inside of his right boot, generating vicious dip and swerve.
The ball soared over the Manchester City wall, tracing a flawless, breathtaking arc through the Birmingham sky.
A second later, it kissed the underside of the crossbar and nestled perfectly into the top right corner of the net!
Ederson hadn't even moved.
The Brazilian keeper was left absolutely rooted to the spot, entirely beaten by the pace and precision of the strike.
"HE HAS DONE IT!" Peter Drury's voice cracked with emotion.
"ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL! A free-kick sent from the heavens! Ederson didn't even smell it!"
"Aston Villa are level, and Theodore Bjorn is rewriting the laws of physics at Villa Park!"
"That is pure perfection," Jim Beglin marveled. "The dip, the curl, the sheer venom. You cannot place a football any better than that. He is turning into the complete, unplayable footballer."
As the stadium erupted, a graphic flashed across the screen.
Drury's tone shifted from excitement to pure reverence.
"And with that breathtaking strike, history is made today... that is Theodore Bjorn's 35th Premier League goal of the season."
"He has just broken the all-time Premier League single-season goalscoring record! A record held by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer for over two decades, shattered by an eighteen-year-old midfielder!"
"It beggars belief, Jim. We are witnessing greatness."
...
After the restart, the Manchester City players looked genuinely rattled.
The sheer audacity and quality of the free-kick had caught everyone, including Pep Guardiola, completely off guard.
The City manager paced his technical area, looking uncharacteristically anxious.
The first half reached the 42nd minute.
Despite City's attempts to re-establish dominance, the remaining minutes ticked away without any clear-cut chances.
The halftime whistle blew. The score stood poised at 2-2.
After the fifteen-minute interval, the second half commenced. Theodore Bjorn emerged from the tunnel looking hungrier than ever.
Shortly after the restart, he initiated a devastating attack, but this time, he altered his positioning.
Instead of operating in the congested central channel, he drifted out to the right flank to receive the ball.
The tactical tweak paid immediate dividends.
Isolated against Benjamin Mendy, Theodore utilized his formidable intelligence to outwit the French defender.
He initially engaged Mendy in a physical duel, but recognizing Mendy's own imposing strength, Theodore quickly changed tactics.
He execute a violent deceleration.
The sudden stop created a yard of space. Theodore spotted McGinn arriving in support and slipped a quick pass to the Scotsman.
Mendy instinctively shifted his focus to McGinn.
But the moment Mendy turned his hips, McGinn played a slick, first-time return pass right back into Theodore's path.
A textbook, devastating wall-pass.
Theodore and McGinn had effortlessly bypassed the City full-back, leaving Mendy chasing shadows!