Fifteen minutes later, the second half between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid officially began.
Madrid came out sharper, faster, and far more aggressive than they had been before the break.
The sudden high press from Casemiro, Modrić, and Theodore caught Dortmund off guard.
For the first time all night, the home side looked uncomfortable trying to play out, and under pressure from those three Madrid players, Emre Can finally lost possession in midfield.
Theodore reacted instantly.
After taking control of the loose ball, he moved it quickly to Vinícius on the left flank, then refused to remain passive in midfield. Instead, he drifted toward the same side, giving Vinícius a passing option and forcing Dortmund to adjust.
At that moment, Vinícius had already been trapped.
Guerreiro stepped out from full-back, while Dahoud moved across from midfield, the two of them blocking every obvious route forward.
If this had been the Vinícius from the first half, he would probably have tried to force his way through both players without hesitation.
But after losing the ball several times earlier and giving Dortmund chances to counter, he had clearly learned his lesson.
This time, he did not gamble.
Just as he shaped his body to pass the ball into the box for Benzema, Theodore's voice cut through the noise.
"PASSS!"
Vinícius looked left.
Theodore had already arrived beside him.
Rob Palmer: "Vinícius finds Theodore, and this is interesting—Madrid have shifted him toward the left at the start of this second half."
Terry Gibson: "That looks like a clear adjustment from Zidane. Theodore was crowded out centrally before the break, so now Madrid are trying to move him into areas where he can isolate defenders rather than be surrounded immediately."
Before Palmer could continue, Vinícius had already darted into the penalty area.
His run dragged Guerreiro with him, and for one brief moment, the only player left in front of Theodore was Dahoud.
That was all Theodore needed.
He did not hesitate. With his right foot, he pushed the ball forward and exploded past Dahoud in a blur.
The Dortmund midfielder barely had time to react.
By the time Dahoud instinctively reached out to grab Theodore's shirt, Theodore was already behind him.
At the top of the penalty arc, space opened up.
Theodore could shoot.
On the touchline, Terzić immediately lost his calm.
"Cover him!"
"Don't let him shoot!"
"Hurry!"
Emre Can and Bellingham sprinted toward Theodore at once.
Emre Can came from the right and drove his shoulder into Theodore, while Bellingham moved across the front, trying to block the shooting lane.
On paper, Dortmund had not made an obvious mistake.
In reality, they had still given Theodore half a second too much.
And for a player like Theodore, half a second was enough.
He slammed his shoulder back into Emre Can.
In pure strength, Theodore still had the advantage.
Emre Can was knocked off balance and sent tumbling away, while Theodore kept moving.
Then came Bellingham.
Facing the seventeen-year-old directly, Theodore did not try to go around him with some long, obvious touch.
Instead, his foot snapped over the ball, quick and clean, and he slipped it straight through Bellingham's legs.
Bellingham panicked instantly.
He had not expected Theodore's footwork to be that fast. By the time he reached out to pull him back, Theodore had already gone past him.
Shoot.
Bang!
From the edge of the penalty area, Theodore lifted his leg and fired without hesitation.
The ball tore through the air and flew straight into the top-right corner.
Hitz did not even move.
For a moment, the Westfalenstadion froze.
Then the Madrid bench erupted.
Rob Palmer: "Theodore! That is absolutely brilliant! Real Madrid have their goal, and their number ten has dragged them back into this tie!"
Terry Gibson: "That is a huge response. He shrugs off Emre Can, embarrasses Bellingham with the nutmeg, and then the finish is ruthless. Hitz has no chance. None at all."
Rob Palmer: "Dortmund tried to crowd him, tried to muscle him, tried to block the shot, and Theodore still found a way through. Madrid trail by two, but suddenly this feels very different."
Madrid were still behind, but the score was now 3–1.
The gap had been cut to two goals.
And there was still plenty of time left!
On X, the Madrid side of the internet came roaring back to life.
@TheodoreEra: THERE HE IS. That's the Theodore we know.
@MadridistaHQ: One chance. One shot. Goal. This is why you never write him off.
@BlancoPulse: Dortmund doubled him, crowded him, kicked him, and he still scored. Monster.
@UCLNights: That goal has changed the entire feeling of this match. Dortmund were cruising. Now they have something to think about.
@BernabeuFaithful: 3–1. Forty minutes left. Don't you dare switch this off.
@BellinghamWatch: Theodore just gave Bellingham a harsh lesson there. Welcome to elite-level football!
After scoring, Theodore did not celebrate.
He did not run to the corner, he did not point to the crowd.
He did not even smile.
Instead, he went straight into the net, picked up the ball, and jogged back toward the halfway line as quickly as possible.
Madrid still needed more.
Inside the Westfalenstadion, tens of thousands of Dortmund supporters fell into a tense silence for the first time that night.
They were unhappy, but more than that, they were nervous.
@BVBArmy: What the hell just happened? How did Theodore get through that many bodies?
@YellowWallVoice: Bellingham has to foul him earlier there. You cannot let Theodore face goal.
@DortmundPulse: Damn it. We kept him quiet for one half, but players like that only need one moment.
@BVB_1909: Madrid actually think they can come back now. Kill this game before it gets ugly.
@RuhrStand: Calm down. We're still two goals up. But please, for the love of God, stop letting Theodore shoot.
After Madrid's goal, the most emotional person in the stadium was not Zidane.
It was Terzić.
The Dortmund head coach stood on the touchline, furious, shouting at his midfielders with both arms raised.
"How many times have I told you? Keep your eyes on their number ten! Don't ever let him get a shot away that easily!"
He pointed toward the pitch, his voice cutting through the noise.
"We haven't won yet! There are still forty minutes left! Wake up and focus!"
After the restart, Dortmund had possession.
Emre Can quickly moved the ball to Marco Reus.
At a moment like this, Dortmund needed experience.
They needed someone who understood how to calm the match, slow the rhythm, and remind the young players that the scoreboard was still in their favor.
Reus did exactly that.
He did not immediately force an attack toward Madrid's penalty area.
Instead, he played the ball backward, then pressed both hands downward while shouting to his teammates.
"Calm down! Don't rush! We're still leading by two. They're the ones who need to panic, not us!"
Reus was right.
Dortmund had no reason to throw the match into chaos. With a two-goal lead, all they had to do was manage the tempo, break Madrid's rhythm, and stop the game from becoming the kind of wild, emotional battle Real Madrid would thrive in.
But when the ball reached Bellingham, the seventeen-year-old did not follow Reus' advice.
He still felt responsible for the goal Dortmund had conceded.
He wanted to make up for it.
So instead of recycling possession, Bellingham lifted his head and sent a long pass forward, picking out Sancho on the front line.
The pass was excellent, dropping neatly into Sancho's path.
And Sancho, being another young attacker with the same fearless instinct, had no intention of slowing things down either.
He wanted to use his ability to hurt Madrid again, to restore Dortmund's three-goal advantage and rip away the hope Theodore had just given them.
Unfortunately for Sancho, Madrid were no longer defending like they had in the first half.
Only three seconds after he received the ball, Casemiro appeared in front of him.
At first, Sancho did not seem too concerned.
Casemiro had been regarded for years as one of the finest defensive midfielders in world football, but time, injuries, and the sheer wear of elite-level football had all taken a little from him.
He was not quite the same unstoppable destroyer he had once been at his absolute peak.
And earlier in this match, Sancho had already escaped him several times.
The twenty-year-old trusted his dribbling.
But Casemiro was still Casemiro.
And this time, he taught Sancho a painful lesson!
Rob Palmer: "Casemiro slides in—wins the ball! Michael Oliver says play on!"
Terry Gibson: "That's a terrific tackle. He times it perfectly, gets the ball first, and Sancho is left asking for a foul he was never going to get."
Rob Palmer: "Madrid have it back, and Casemiro immediately looks forward."
After taking the ball from Sancho's feet, Casemiro did not hesitate. He drove a long pass toward Benzema.
Benzema controlled it on the left side of Dortmund's penalty area, but Hummels reacted quickly, rushing out from the box and getting in front of him almost immediately.
Benzema rolled his foot over the ball, throwing in a series of stepovers, trying to drag Hummels off balance before opening the shooting lane.
Then he struck.
But Hummels did not bite.
The Dortmund defender stayed calm through every feint, and the moment Benzema shot, he stretched out his leg to block.
The ball struck him and deflected away.
Madrid's attack came to nothing.
Five minutes later, Modrić won the ball in midfield.
This time, he did not immediately look for Benzema up front.
Instead, he gave it to Theodore beside him.
Modrić had understood the truth of the match.
If Madrid were going to win at the Westfalenstadion, they still needed Theodore's individual brilliance.
Rob Palmer: "Modrić gives it to Theodore, and Dortmund are already moving toward him."
Terry Gibson: "This is the duel now. Bellingham, seventeen years old, up against Theodore, nineteen. Two outstanding young players, but right now Bellingham has to prove he can stop him."
In midfield, the moment Theodore received Modrić's pass, Bellingham rushed straight in front of him.
After facing Theodore throughout the match, Bellingham had gained a very clear understanding of his opponent's ability.
He knew ordinary defending would not be enough.
Trying to stop Theodore cleanly, one-on-one, was almost impossible.
So Bellingham used his hands.
He went straight for the tactical foul, trying to grab Theodore before he could accelerate.
But Theodore saw it coming as he pushed the ball forward.
In that instant, his explosiveness was displayed to the fullest.
Within the blink of an eye, Theodore flashed past Bellingham.
Bellingham managed to grab a handful of his shirt, but it barely slowed him. Theodore powered through the contact and broke free with ease.
Rob Palmer: "Theodore is away from Bellingham again!"
Terry Gibson: "That's the difference in power and acceleration. Bellingham tries to stop him early, which is the right idea, but Theodore just bursts through it."
Rob Palmer: "The young Englishman has had a brilliant night, but in those direct duels, Theodore is starting to take over."
In a flash, Theodore crossed into Dortmund's half.
Terzić's nerves showed immediately on the Dortmund bench.
"Cover him!"
"Don't let Madrid's number ten break through!"
"Foul him if you have to!"
Several Dortmund players rushed toward Theodore at once.
Emre Can. Dahoud. Hummels. Akanji.
Two midfielders and two center-backs, all collapsing on him at speed.
But Theodore had already made his decision.
He was not going to force his way through four players just to prove a point.
Instead, he drew them in and passed.
Bang!
With his right foot, Theodore slipped the ball into the space behind Dortmund's collapsing line.
The pass went straight into Benzema's path.
Because Hummels and Akanji had both rushed out toward Theodore, Dortmund's defensive line had been ripped open.
Only Guerreiro and Mateu Morey were left deeper, and both were already occupied—Guerreiro with Vinícius, Morey with Ødegaard.
Benzema was free.
Completely free.
The moment Theodore's pass arrived at Benzema's feet, the Westfalenstadion fell silent again.
Eighty thousand Dortmund fans sensed the danger at the same time.
Benzema did not hesitate.
Bang!
His finish was clean, ruthless, and calm, flashing past Hitz and into the net before the goalkeeper could do anything about it.
Madrid had another goal!
Rob Palmer: "Benzemaaaaaaaa! Real Madrid have scored again! From three-nil down, they are suddenly right back in this!"
Terry Gibson: "That is all about Theodore. Everyone in yellow is drawn toward him, the two center-backs step out, and Benzema is left completely alone. Once the pass arrives, the finish is never in doubt."
Rob Palmer: "Dortmund were three goals clear. Now the gap is one. And listen to the change in this stadium!"
Terry Gibson: "This is exactly what Terzić feared. Madrid have experience, Madrid have belief, and when Theodore starts dictating the game like this, Dortmund suddenly look nervous."
Just as Palmer said, after the restart, the side that looked anxious was no longer Madrid.
It was Dortmund.