After the restart, Real Madrid's players did not immediately manage to put pressure on Atlético's back line.
Simeone's team had immediately switched into a deep, compact defensive block.
All eleven Atlético players had retreated into their own half to defend their lead.
Although Madrid's players circulated the ball across the pitch, with the front three constantly making runs, they simply could not find any penetrating passing lanes.
The midfield had been completely sealed off by Atlético's numerical advantage and suffocating defensive structure.
Zidane gradually realized how serious the problem was. He stood on the edge of the technical area, frantically directing his players' positioning.
Back when Zidane was still a player, he had been the most elegant and effective midfielder in world football. He understood exactly how to pick the lock of a packed defense.
"Take them on! Don't hesitate!" Zidane shouted. "Believe in your ability! Break the lines!"
Just as Zidane shouted those instructions, the ball arrived at Modrić's feet.
As Zidane's trusted disciple, the Croatian naturally followed his coach's words without hesitation. The next second, he attempted to beat his man.
Unfortunately, Modrić's attempt at an elastico failed.
Although he got past Koke, another midfielder, Marcos Llorente, immediately rushed to his side and stripped the ball away.
Llorente had once played for Real Madrid, but he had never been able to claim a regular place in that star-studded midfield.
So, he transferred across the city to Atlético Madrid. Over the past few seasons, he had grown into an undisputed starter.
After stealing the ball from Modrić, Llorente immediately launched a long pass.
Up front for Atlético, both João Félix and Luis Suárez had already started sprinting into the space vacated by the Madrid defense.
Bang!
Seconds later, Llorente's pass dropped with perfect precision into the stride of Suárez.
A golden counterattacking chance.
After bringing the ball down with his right foot, Suárez lifted his head and glanced at Courtois' positioning.
The Uruguayan did not take another touch.
It looked as though Suárez was going to shoot directly from distance.
As one of the world's most lethal strikers in his prime, Suárez possessed the ability to score from almost anywhere.
Inside the Bernabéu, more than eighty thousand Real Madrid fans collectively held their breath.
Bang!
Suárez unleashed a vicious strike.
But his effort struck Theodore Bjorn.
At the absolute final fraction of a second, Theodore had sprinted back and thrown his body into a desperate sliding block, destroying Suárez's shooting angle.
"It's Theodore again!" Palmer shouted. "Theodore's position tonight is defensive midfielder, and his performance in that role has been monstrous! His defensive recoveries are keeping Madrid alive!"
"Although Madrid have conceded two goals, neither of them had anything to do with Theodore," Gibson added. "The defense and the full-backs should take the blame for those lapses."
Palmer continued to analyze the flow of the game. "The match has reached the 30th minute, but Real Madrid's attack still hasn't improved much. Karim Benzema and Vinícius have practically disappeared. They are being completely neutralized."
In truth, it was not that Madrid were too weak; Atlético's tactics were simply perfectly tailored.
Tonight, Simeone had deployed five midfielders and three center-backs.
The main task of those three center-backs was to ruthlessly man-mark Ødegaard, Benzema, and Vinícius.
As long as those three Madrid attackers appeared in the final third, Atlético's center-backs would immediately step out and apply physical pressure.
Because Madrid's front line was constantly being bullied, Madrid's midfielders had no passing options.
The slightest hesitation on the ball would cause Atlético's five midfielders to pounce like a pack of wolves.
During this stretch, not only were Madrid's three forwards struggling badly, but Modrić and Toni Kroos were also starting to look frustrated.
Through relentless running and tireless pressing, Atlético had successfully formed an unbreakable defensive wall.
At this moment, the tens of thousands of Madrid fans inside the Bernabéu were growing anxious.
Gradually, the first half entered its final stage.
In the 40th minute, Real Madrid possessed the ball deep in their own half.
Varane passed to Theodore.
Because Theodore's primary task tonight was screening the defense, he had not been heavily involved in Madrid's attack. But now, the first half was almost over, and Madrid were trailing by a goal.
As the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner, playing in front of his parents and eighty thousand expectant fans, Theodore refused to accept the current situation.
He decided to take matters into his own hands.
"Theodore! A sudden burst of acceleration!" Palmer yelled into the microphone. "Is he going to break forward from deep?"
"Yes, he is! Theodore uses his raw pace to blow past Carrasco!"
"He hasn't passed! He's carrying the ball through the center!"
"Héctor Herrera and Koke step up to stop him!"
"Foul!" Gibson cried out. "Herrera flies in with a reckless sliding tackle right through the front of him!"
"What? The referee hasn't blown the whistle?!" Palmer exclaimed in disbelief.
To stop the Norwegian's surging run, Herrera had gone straight through him with a cynical sliding tackle.
Theodore was brought down hard. But referee Mateu Lahoz waved play on.
Theodore immediately sprang back to his feet.
He did not complain or throw his hands up. Instead, he rushed toward Herrera with terrifying speed.
Herrera had just kicked a hornets' nest.
Like a battering ram, Theodore crashed heavily into the Mexican midfielder from the side, knocking him completely off balance and to the turf.
Theodore immediately reclaimed possession of the loose ball.
The referee still did not make a call, and this time, it was Atlético's players who furiously protested. Koke rushed toward Lahoz, shouting angrily.
Theodore did not waste a single second.
"Defend quickly! Stop him! Foul him!" Simeone screamed frantically from the touchline.
Hearing his manager, Koke abandoned his argument with the referee and charged toward Theodore.
At the same time, Marcos Llorente arrived from the other side. Theodore was about to be engulfed by three Atlético players.
Bang!
This time, Theodore did not attempt to dribble out of the trap. He chose to pass.
He whipped a devastating, low-driven pass straight into the heart of the Atlético penalty area.
The ball bypassed the midfield entirely and dropped perfectly into the path of Karim Benzema.
On the far side of the box, Stefan Savić was the only defender close enough to intervene.
Although Savić was fully focused and even had a fistful of Benzema's shirt, he could not stop the inevitable.
Theodore's pass arrived with wicked pace, and the French striker did not attempt to control it. He struck it first time on the volley.
Bang!
The ball flew into the Atlético net like a tracer bullet.
The finish was a testament to the elite quality of the Madrid number nine.
Benzema's volley pulled Real Madrid level once again!
2–2!
Just before the end of the first half, Real Madrid had equalized.
"BENZEMAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Palmer roared. "Goal! Two-two! Theodore's driven pass was perfection, and Benzema's finish was spectacular! What a team goal!"
After scoring, Benzema immediately pointed both fingers at Theodore, sprinting back to his teammate.
"Theo, I knew you'd find me!" Benzema shouted, throwing an arm around the teenager's shoulders.
"Thank you!"
Soon, the rest of the Madrid players swarmed them to celebrate.
But Theodore's expression remained stoic.
He did not want to celebrate since they had only equalized.
In Theodore's eyes, a draw at the Bernabéu against their city rivals was unacceptable.
On the touchline, Zidane shared the exact same sentiment.
Seeing his players celebrating, Zidane became visibly agitated.
He marched to the edge of his technical area and shouted, "Get back! Stop celebrating! We haven't won anything yet! A draw is nothing to celebrate! Get the ball and restart!"
Hearing their manager's fury, the Madrid players quickly jogged back to their own half.
Not long after the restart, the fourth official raised the board.
Three minutes of stoppage time.
Atlético's players were in no hurry to attack. They circulated the ball safely across their back line, content to run down the clock.
Taking a draw into halftime at the Bernabéu was an excellent scenario for Simeone.
"Press them! Win it back! Push up!" Zidane demanded, waving his arms forward.
Responding to the command, Ødegaard, Benzema, and Vinícius launched into a coordinated high press against Atlético's defense.
Modrić and Kroos pushed high into the opposition half to squeeze the space.
Seeing the intense pressure, Atlético's players abandoned their possession play and launched a long ball forward.
Bang!
Felipe sent a raking pass up toward João Félix.
The Portuguese forward had been highly effective in the first half, having already beaten Courtois with a superb volley.
Now, the ball dropped perfectly for him on the left side of the penalty area.
He could have held it up. He could have crossed for Suárez.
But Félix was overflowing with confidence. He glanced at the goal and decided to shoot first time.
It was a fatal miscalculation.
Just as Félix pulled his leg back to strike, Theodore Bjorn materialized in front of him.
In the first half alone, Theodore had made five crucial defensive interventions, mostly around the edge of his own penalty area.
And now, he was there again to neutralize Félix.
Theodore took one explosive step, closing the distance instantly.
Before Félix could connect with the shot, Theodore extended a long leg and cleanly poked the ball away, instantly taking control of possession.
Everyone in the stadium knew what happened when Theodore won the ball in deep areas. The opposition was about to be severely punished.
After securing the ball, Theodore's head snapped up, scanning the pitch.
After half a season together, Madrid's forwards understood the trigger.
The moment Theodore won possession, Benzema, Vinícius, and Ødegaard all ignited their sprints, charging toward the Atlético penalty area.
But Atlético's defensive structure had not broken.
Most of their players were still stationed in a deep block. Ødegaard, Benzema, and Vinícius were all tightly marked by multiple defenders.
Seeing his passing lanes choked off, Theodore instantly abandoned the idea of a long ball.
He switched to his secondary weapon: the solo drive.
Because Atlético's defenders were packed so deep, their midfield was entirely vacant. It was an open highway for Theodore.
He faced zero resistance as he engaged his afterburners.
The pitch opened up in front of him. In a matter of seconds, Theodore had carried the ball across the halfway line and into Atlético territory.
Simeone was having a meltdown on the touchline.
"Mark him! Do not give him space! Foul him! Bring him down!" Simeone screamed, his voice hoarse with panic.
In the blink of an eye, Theodore arrived at the edge of the penalty arc. He was firmly within his lethal shooting range.
Finally, Héctor Herrera managed to step in front of him.
A split second later, Koke and Marcos Llorente arrived, forming a desperate three-man blockade.
"It's a three-man wall against Theodore again!" Palmer noted, his voice rising in anticipation. "This is the standard treatment for the Ballon d'Or winner! How will he break through this time?"
Palmer stared at the monitor, holding his breath.
Inside the Bernabéu, eighty thousand Real Madrid fans rose from their seats in unison.
They were already preparing to celebrate.