On the pitch, Barcelona restarted play.
The clock ticked past the 88th minute.
Only two minutes of regulation remained, though because there had been a red card and a flurry of second-half goals, referee José Sánchez would undoubtedly add some stoppage time.
But no matter what, the result of the match was set in stone.
Barcelona, playing away from home, absolutely could not pull the score level in the final few minutes.
The suspense was thoroughly exterminated.
However, displaying the pride of a wounded giant, the Barcelona players refused to simply pass the ball around the back and give up on attacking.
Instead, they actively tried to put pressure on their opponents.
As Real Madrid's bitterest rivals, every Barcelona player wanted to fight until the final whistle.
Before long, the ball was worked out to Ousmane Dembélé on the right flank.
The French winger suddenly knocked the ball forward, utilizing his raw pace to shoot past Ferland Mendy like a streak of black lightning.
As he reached the edge of the final third, Griezmann had already made a darting run into the penalty area.
Messi was also loitering dangerously near the top of the penalty area, ready to receive.
In other words, Dembélé had two obvious passing options. Of course, he could also continue carrying the ball forward himself.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Dembélé made his choice.
He passed.
One second later, the ball rolled to the top of the penalty area.
Lionel Messi received it.
In years past, if Real Madrid fans saw Messi collect the ball in that exact position, their hearts would immediately jump into their throats.
They would be paralyzed by nerves.
But tonight, the faces in the Madrid crowd were entirely calm.
There was no panic at all.
Because every single Real Madrid supporter knew one undeniable truth: Theodore would definitely shut down Messi's dribble!
And reality did not disappoint.
The microsecond Messi trapped Dembélé's pass, Theodore materialized directly in front of him once again.
This time, however, Messi refused to back down.
He could have slipped a pass to an overlapping teammate, but pride dictated otherwise. Instead, he decided to take Theodore on.
But just as Messi attempted to drop his shoulder and shift the ball onto his left foot, Theodore's right leg struck first.
With a precise, stabbing touch, Theodore nudged the ball cleanly out of Messi's control.
Panic flashed across the Argentine's face.
Desperate to salvage his pride, Messi lunged forward with every ounce of strength his exhausted body possessed, trying to regain possession before Theodore could take it away.
But at that exact moment, Theodore stepped into the clearance, his powerful, bull-like momentum carrying him straight through the ball and into the lunging Messi.
It was a heavy physical collision.
Messi crashed to the grass with a pained expression, his face instantly contorting in severe discomfort as he clutched the back of his leg.
Seeing the distress, the referee immediately blew his whistle and frantically signaled for the Barcelona medical staff to come onto the pitch.
The physios sprinted toward Messi as quickly as they could.
After a brief, anxious assessment, they gestured toward the touchline, making the dreaded substitution signal to Ronald Koeman.
Messi could not continue.
He had suffered a severe thigh strain, exacerbated by sheer exhaustion and the physical toll of battling Theodore all night.
If Barcelona forced him to stay on the pitch, the injury would only become more serious.
Koeman did not hesitate, instantly replacing his captain with Miralem Pjanić.
As Messi limped heavily off the pitch, the Bernabéu showed no mercy, erupting in a deafening crescendo of hostile boos and whistles aimed directly at their eternal tormentor.
Messi could only lower his head, disappearing down the tunnel in defeat.
José Sánchez signaled for three minutes of stoppage time.
During those final three minutes, a broken Barcelona side failed to mount a single attack.
Operating without their talisman, they simply retreated into a deep defensive block, praying to avoid conceding an eighth goal. Simply surviving the final whistle was the best they could hope for.
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeep!
As José Sánchez blew the final whistle three times, the most brutal El Clásico in recent memory officially concluded!
Real Madrid had humiliated Barcelona 7–2 at home!
Theodore Bjorn, having recorded an incomprehensible stat line of four goals and three assists while defensively neutralizing the greatest player of his generation, was unanimously awarded Man of the Match.
In the stands, eighty-five thousand fans gave the teenager a thunderous, standing ovation.
Every single Madridista wore an ear-to-ear smile!
...
In the post-match mixed zone, the moment the global press corps spotted Theodore, a tidal wave of microphones and cameras surged toward him at once.
"Theodore, describe how you feel tonight!"
"Four goals, three assists in your first Clásico! How do you think Barcelona performed today?"
"Is the La Liga title already decided?!"
"..."
Because there were simply too many reporters screaming questions at him, Theodore naturally could not answer everyone.
Surrounded by the chaos, he remained characteristically unbothered and replied briefly.
"For me, this was just an ordinary match," Theodore replied coolly, his voice flat. "Barcelona didn't put much pressure on our defensive structure. Honestly, we played very comfortably tonight."
After dropping that devastatingly calm quote, Theodore turned and walked away down the tunnel, escorted by Real Madrid security.
Shortly after, the official post-match press conferences commenced in the auditorium.
Ronald Koeman sat before the global media, his face pale, offering a sigh of profound resignation.
"Tonight, we were completely and utterly beaten by Real Madrid," Koeman admitted, staring blankly at the microphones.
"No—more accurately, we were completely beaten by Theodore Bjorn."
"That eighteen-year-old recorded four goals and three assists against us. But beyond the offensive numbers, he made several crucial defensive interventions."
Koeman shook his head slowly. "In my entire career, I have never seen Lionel Messi lose the ball so many times in isolated duels to a single defender. He is a... phenomenon."
It was painfully obvious from Ronald Koeman's pale face that the Barcelona head coach was utterly dejected.
After dropping that devastating admission, Koeman let out a heavy, helpless sigh before slowly continuing, his voice echoing in the silent press room.
"Our winning streak has been abruptly ended. Real Madrid's players were exceptionally excellent tonight. I firmly believe that after this brutal match, everyone on earth who loves football will know his name."
At that tense moment, a reporter from AS suddenly stood up and asked Koeman a relentlessly direct question.
"Mr. Koeman, do you think Theodore Bjorn is currently the strongest attacking player in world football? Between him and Lionel Messi, who is truly stronger?"
Clearly, it was a loaded question designed to offend people and generate a sensational headline.
As Barcelona's head coach, Koeman naturally had a duty to protect Messi's legacy.
But at the same time, he did not want to lie after witnessing such a massacre.
So he could only answer in a more tactful, measured way.
"Judging purely from tonight's performance on the pitch, Real Madrid's No. 10 was undeniably better than our No. 10. However, the main reason Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are called the two undisputed greats of their generation is because both of them have maintained an extremely long, unprecedented peak."
Koeman's unspoken meaning was obvious to every journalist in the room.
Theodore was still far too young.
Even though his performance tonight had been flawlessly perfect—visibly better and more dominant than Messi's—it did not necessarily mean the teenager could maintain that superhuman level forever.
Shortly after, Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane confidently took his seat to accept the reporters' questions.
The same reporter from AS asked Zidane the exact same question he had just asked Koeman.
Zidane leaned into the microphone and answered almost without thinking, his voice ringing with unshakable conviction.
"As Theodore's coach, I know very well just how much terrifying power this young player has inside his body. There is absolutely no denying that Lionel Messi was the greatest player on this planet over the past decade. The golden era of Messi and Cristiano was the youth of many football fans around the world."
Zidane paused, his eyes locking onto the cameras.
"But what I want to declare right now is this: Messi is almost thirty-three now. His peak has already passed. And now, definitively, this is Theodore Bjorn's era."
…
Deep inside the bowels of the Bernabéu, inside the Real Madrid dressing room, the players were still celebrating the historic victory like absolute madmen.
Some of the veterans even copied the fanatic supporters in the stands, pounding on the lockers and chanting Theodore's name together in a deafening chorus.
That immense display of respect actually made Theodore feel a little awkward and genuinely humbled.
Before long, Zidane returned from the press conference and entered the jubilant dressing room.
Along with him came the legendary man at the helm of Real Madrid—President Florentino Pérez.
Florentino walked into the center of the room and gave the exhausted, victorious Madrid players a warm, immensely proud round of applause.
Then he slowly spoke, his voice carrying the weight of the institution.
"Boys, you did brilliantly. I am profoundly proud of every single one of you!"
"You systematically defeated a powerful Barcelona side and won El Clásico in historic fashion. Tonight, you are the absolute heroes of Real Madrid!"
"To honor this, I will reward the squad with a five-million-euro win bonus. But please, continue to maintain your ruthless hunger for victory. The season is long, so do not become arrogant or careless!"
The exact moment Florentino finished speaking, the Real Madrid players in the dressing room all raised their arms and cheered in sheer ecstasy.
Some of the more attention-seeking players even began loudly chanting Florentino's name.
Before leaving the celebrations, Florentino specifically walked over to Theodore and greeted him personally.
He gave the teenager's broad shoulder a solemn, heavy pat and said earnestly.
"Well done, my boy. Keep this up. As long as you maintain this outstanding form, I truly believe you will win this year's Ballon d'Or."
Theodore looked the President in the eye and replied firmly, "Don't worry, boss. I'll give this club everything I have."
Florentino nodded in deep satisfaction.
After the president left, Theodore was just about to go wash up when his phone suddenly vibrated in his locker.
It was a text message from Reba.
[Big football star! Congratulations on the massive win! I'm flying back home to Asia tonight, so don't miss me too much!]
Then, Reba boldly sent another message.
[Shooting practice with you was a lot of fun. 😉]
Reading that, Theodore gave an awkward, flustered little cough, his cheeks warming slightly, and decided not to reply just yet.
Soon after that, Norwegian Princess Ingrid also sent Theodore a glowing, congratulatory message.
[Theo! I watched your match live at the Bernabéu. You played amazingly! You are a hero! All of Norway is so proud of you!]
Just as Princess Ingrid had said, after Theodore single-handedly led Real Madrid to a humiliating 7–2 victory over Barcelona at home, his name had already shot straight to the number one spot on Norway's national trending searches.
All of Norway was buzzing, passionately talking about Theodore's otherworldly performance.
Even the largest sports websites in Scandinavia were entirely filled with content dedicated to him.
Of course, it was not just Norway.
The same frenzy was happening across the entire globe.
After the final whistle blew, international sports media and global football platforms released multiple viral reports in rapid succession.
Full-Time Report — Real Madrid Humiliate Barcelona 7–2!
Norwegian Wonderkid Theodore Bjorn Directly Involved in Seven Goals!
He Sinks the Superteam All by Himself!
Theodore Bjorn Attacking Highlights! Four Goals and an Assist Hat-Trick in the Greatest Clásico Debut Ever!
Theodore Bjorn Defensive Highlights!
He Shuts Down Lionel Messi Entirely by Himself!
Messi's Ultimate Nemesis — Theodore Bjorn!
Theodore Completes Eleven Successful Tackles on Messi in a Single Match!
Barcelona Suffer Their Biggest Defeat of the New Century!
After the Match, Coach Koeman Admits Theodore Completely Defeated Messi Tonight!
…
On global social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, all five of the top worldwide trending topics were entirely about Theodore.
No. 1 Worldwide Trend: Theodore Bjorn Scores Four!
No. 2 Worldwide Trend: Theodore Bjorn Records an Assist Hat-Trick, Directly Involved in Seven Goals to Help Real Madrid Destroy Barça!
No. 3 Worldwide Trend: Theodore Bjorn Becomes Messi's Nemesis, Argentine King Forced to Collapse by Norwegian Teenager! …
During the match, Reba had used her phone from the VIP box to record the exact moment Theodore scored his spectacular free-kick.
After slickly editing the video in CapCut, she posted it on her massively popular TikTok and Instagram accounts.
Very quickly, the video's likes instantly exploded, reaching one million in record time.
On top of that, the comment count furiously hit two hundred thousand.
"I'm so incredibly jealous that Reba got to watch El Clásico live from a VIP box!" — 8,212 likes
"Theodore is seriously insane. One single player directly involved in seven goals against Barça. I still can't believe we are witnessing this!" — 7,543 likes
"Oh my god, my idol actually watched Theodore's match! Double joy as a massive fan of both!" — 5,432 likes
"I've already watched every single video and read every piece of news about Theodore tonight. As a Madrid fan, I'm so happy I could cry!" — 4,223 likes …
..
In Spain, the morning after the match ended, all the major national newspapers hit the stands, entirely abandoning their usual restraint to violently praise Theodore's historic performance.
AS: "A miraculous Norwegian boy! At only eighteen years old, Theodore Bjorn becomes the youngest player to score four goals in El Clásico! The greatest star of the next decade is rising!"
Marca: "This match is more than enough to prove that Theodore Bjorn is currently the greatest footballer on the planet. He made an aging Lionel Messi feel true fear!"
Mundo Deportivo (Catalonia): "Congratulations to Real Madrid for claiming seven straight wins. This humiliating match may very well become the definitive turning point of both teams' seasons. Barcelona are broken."
Sport: "The most terrifyingly complete player in football history has arrived! Theodore Bjorn! He can score, he can assist, and most importantly, his aggressive defending is also absolute top class!"