Although Madrid's covering defenders reacted quickly, with Ødegaard and Modrić both moving across at the first opportunity to intercept Alphonso Davies, the effect was limited.
At that moment, Davies' speed advantage was on full display.
In only a few seconds, the Canadian had already charged all the way to Real Madrid's byline.
He lifted his head, glanced at his teammates' movement inside the box, and chose to cross.
At that moment, Bayern already had three attackers inside Madrid's penalty area.
Center-forward Robert Lewandowski.
Shadow striker Thomas Müller.
Defensive midfielder Leon Goretzka.
The three of them charged into the box at the same time like arrows released from the string, all attacking the delivery.
Bang!
Davies' cross had an excellent landing point, flying precisely toward Lewandowski.
But just as Bayern's star striker was about to jump, he suddenly felt as though his body had been struck by a tank.
Theodore had appeared beside him again.
At that moment, Theodore and Lewandowski jumped almost at the same time.
Lewandowski had already given everything he had, but he still could not win the header in front of Theodore.
The ball was cleared by Theodore.
"Davies' cross is excellent—Theodore gets there again!" Rob Palmer called. "Lewandowski is denied in the air once more."
"That has been one of the stories of the night," Terry Gibson said. "Bayern keep trying to find Lewandowski with crosses, but Theodore is always there. He matches him physically, reads the flight of the ball, and wins the duel."
"It feels like Theodore's defensive assignment is clear," Rob added. "Whenever Lewandowski attacks the ball, Theodore has to be the man dealing with him."
On social media, fans were just as stunned by Theodore's aerial dominance.
📱 @TheodoreEraCN ✔
Lewandowski is losing every aerial duel against Theodore tonight. Every single one.
| ↳ 📱 @MadridCN_Insider
| Reply: Looking at this match, there's a reason Theodore won the Ballon d'Or and The Best. He's dominating both boxes.
📱 @UCLMadridista ✔
Is this really the Lewandowski who destroys the Bundesliga every week? Theodore has completely locked him down in the air.
| ↳ 📱 @BlancoPulse
| Reply: Theodore is the real aerial king tonight. Scoring, defending, clearing everything.
Without anyone quite realizing it, the match had already reached the 75th minute.
Only fifteen minutes of normal time remained.
As time gradually slipped away, Bayern's players became more and more serious.
For Flick, there were no perfect solutions left.
He could only try everything he had.
In the 78th minute, Bayern continued making substitutions.
The seventeen-year-old Jamal Musiala came on.
This young player was regarded by many Bayern fans as the core of the team's next decade.
Although he was only seventeen, his dribbling in matches was extremely sharp, and he could often slip past several players in succession with quick feet and sudden changes of rhythm.
Now, Flick decided to place part of Bayern's remaining hope on this seventeen-year-old youngster.
"Bayern make another change," Rob Palmer announced. "Jamal Musiala comes on, replacing Kingsley Coman."
"Coman hasn't had the night he wanted," Terry Gibson said. "Carvajal has dealt with him well for most of the match, so Flick is looking for something different now. Musiala is young, fearless, and very good in tight spaces."
"But this is a huge ask," Rob added. "He is only seventeen, and Bayern are asking him to change the rhythm of a Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid."
"Unless he's the seventeen-year-old Theodore Bjorn," Terry said with a faint laugh, "that is not an easy job."
This season, Musiala had made twenty-five Bundesliga appearances, including only seven starts, and had scored six goals while providing one assist.
For a seventeen-year-old player, that was already an impressive performance.
But tonight, Bayern's opponent was the Galáctico battleship.
Real Madrid!
For such a young player to find space in front of so many superstars was extremely difficult.
In the 80th minute, Musiala finally received the ball on the wing.
The player responsible for defending him was Madrid's experienced full-back, Carvajal.
Earlier in the match, Carvajal had repeatedly stopped Kingsley Coman's attempts to break through.
Now, matched up against the young Musiala, he was still full of confidence.
However, the match had already reached the final ten minutes, and Carvajal's stamina had been affected to a certain extent.
Musiala, on the other hand, had just come on.
His legs were fresh.
His body was light.
His mind was clear.
This time, Musiala's sudden acceleration gave Carvajal no time to react.
In an instant, the young Bayern attacker flashed past him.
Carvajal tried to turn and chase, but he could no longer keep up with Musiala's steps.
After that, Musiala decisively cut inside.
As he broke through, his eyes kept observing Courtois' position.
It seemed the youngster wanted to shoot directly.
But Theodore saw through everything.
The moment Musiala appeared near the top of the penalty arc, Theodore had already arrived.
He did not waste words.
He went straight into the physical duel.
Theodore had also started his career at seventeen, so he understood very well what kind of defensive method worked best against young players.
Of course, Theodore himself was still very young since he was only 19 years old.
When Theodore slammed his body fiercely into Musiala, Bayern's rising star was knocked off balance and crashed to the ground.
He fell heavily onto the grass.
Although Musiala was agile and possessed a certain level of explosiveness and speed, he was still not strong enough physically to compete with seasoned professionals in direct contact.
And he was definitely not strong enough to compete with Theodore.
Anthony Taylor did not blow the whistle.
Instead, he stretched both arms outward and signaled for play to continue.
"Musiala goes down under Theodore's challenge—no foul!" Rob called. "Anthony Taylor says play on."
"That is strength against youth," Terry said. "Musiala does well to beat Carvajal, but Theodore arrives and uses his body perfectly. It's firm, it's physical, and the referee is happy with it."
"Now Madrid can break," Rob added. "And Theodore is already moving."
After winning the ball from Musiala's feet, Theodore immediately accelerated.
In just a few strides, he had already charged into the front half.
With his unstoppable explosiveness and seemingly endless stamina, Theodore at that moment was almost impossible to stop.
"Quick! Stop him!"
"Don't let him—"
On Bayern's bench, Flick's voice had already turned hoarse.
He screamed almost hysterically at his players to defend.
But no one could effectively stop Theodore's breakthrough.
Javi Martínez and Goretzka both tried to foul him.
Javi Martínez desperately grabbed Theodore's shirt from behind with both hands, while Goretzka slid in from the side, trying to knock the ball away or at least break his stride.
At that moment, the two Bayern midfielders were using hands and feet together.
But against Theodore, those fouls barely mattered.
His body barely shook and his stride barely broke.
In the blink of an eye, he had already charged into the attacking third with huge steps.
Straight toward the top of Bayern Munich's penalty arc.
"Theodore is powering through everything!" Rob shouted. "Javi Martínez is pulling him, Goretzka is sliding in, and he's still going!"
"This is monstrous," Terry said. "You can see Bayern trying to foul him, but he refuses to go down. The strength, the balance, the pace — it's absurd."
"He's at the edge of the box now," Rob continued. "Bayern are stretched, Madrid are flooding forward, and Theodore has options."
The Allianz Arena fell into panic again.
Bayern had thrown everything into their last stand.
But now, after Musiala's failed breakthrough, Real Madrid had found another counterattacking chance.
And the man leading it was once again Theodore Bjorn.
📱 @MadridistaHQ ✔
Musiala tried to cut inside, Theodore bodied him, then immediately started a counter. That is brutal.
| ↳ 📱 @BlancoPulse
| Reply: Seventeen-year-old wonderkid meets nineteen-year-old final boss.
📱 @BayernZone ✔
Javi is pulling him, Goretzka is sliding, and Theodore still won't stop. This is ridiculous.
| ↳ 📱 @MiaSanMiaTalk
| Reply: How do you defend someone who ignores fouls?
📱 @UCLMadridista ✔
Theodore has been Bayern's biggest problem in attack, midfield, defense, and now transition. He is everywhere.
| ↳ 📱 @NeutralUCLFan
| Reply: This performance is insane. Goal, assist, defensive headers against Lewandowski, and now another solo counter.
At the top of Bayern's penalty arc, Theodore lifted his head.
The defenders in front of him were retreating in panic.
Neuer adjusted his position, lowering his center of gravity, ready for the shot.
Benzema was moving through the middle, Ødegaard was arriving on the left.
Modrić was trailing behind, ready for the cut-back.
For Bayern, every option looked dangerous.
For Theodore, every option was open!