The current Premier League winning streak record was 18, set by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City between August and December 2017.
Aston Villa stood just two victories away from matching that historic milestone.
However, the system's mission was to break the record.
That ant Theodore Bjorn needed at least three more consecutive wins to secure the David Beckham Peak Free-Kick Card!
On paper, the upcoming fixtures were favorable.
Villa faced Sheffield United away, Southampton at ho, and Norwich at ho.
None were considered heavyweights.
The complication was the schedule.
The fixture list was brutally congested, with Villa juggling Premier League, Carabao Cup, and Europa League commitnts.
From mid-December until the end of the month, they were scheduled to play twice a week.
...
December 14, 2019.
Aston Villa traveled to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United.
The Blades sat 15th in the table, hovering perilously close to the relegation zone, having managed just two draws in their last five matches.
Given the opponent's dismal form and the punishing schedule, Dean Smith opted for heavy rotation.
Theodore Bjorn started on the bench. Douglas Luiz was also rested.
From the opening whistle, Sheffield United abandoned any pretense of playing attacking football.
Manager Chris Wilder deployed a rigid 5-3-2 formation, parking the bus and inviting Villa to break them down.
Without Theodore's elite passing range to unlock the low block, Aston Villa looked entirely toothless.
Throughout the first half, Villa recorded nearly ten shots, but not a single one tested the goalkeeper.
At halfti, the score remained a frustrating 0-0.
In the second half, Dean Smith introduced Douglas Luiz, hoping the Brazilian's passing ability could inject so much-needed creativity.
Unfortunately, Luiz proved ineffective against the Blades' suffocating midfield shape.
He barely had ti on the ball as Sheffield United crowded the central areas and committed constant, tactical fouls to disrupt Villa's rhythm and fragnt the ga.
Wilder's anti-football tactics were succeeding perfectly.
By the 75th minute, the league leaders still hadn't breached the Sheffield United goal.
Panic began to set in for Dean Smith.
He imdiately hauled off Marvelous Nakamba and summoned Theodore Bjorn.
Aston Villa's true maestro took the field.
Notably, as Theodore crossed the white line, segnts of the Bramall Lane crowd actually stood and applauded.
The teenager's reputation had transcended club loyalties across the British Isles.
Five minutes after his introduction, Theodore orchestrated a breakthrough.
Operating slightly wider on the right flank to escape the congested center, Theodore received a sharp pass from John McGinn in the 80th minute.
He looked up and assessed the penalty area. Jack Grealish, Wesley, and Anwar El Ghazi were all making runs.
Theodore selected Wesley, trusting the Brazilian's sheer size and aerial dominance against the packed defense.
He whipped a wicked, early cross into the box. The delivery was inch-perfect, dropping precisely onto Wesley's forehead.
The striker didn't miss.
He overpowered the Sheffield United center-back and planted a firm header into the back of the net.
1-0!
Finally, the visitors had broken the deadlock.
The goal forced Sheffield United to abandon their defensive shell.
Upon the restart, the Blades threw caution to the wind, launching a desperate aerial bombardnt.
Forwards Oli McBurnie and David McGoldrick began dropping into midfield to link play, but Villa's defensive structure held firm.
McGinn and Douglas Luiz applied relentless pressure, ensuring the Sheffield strikers never got a clean sight of goal.
After a grinding ninety minutes, Aston Villa scraped a 1-0 victory on the road.
The streak extended to 17!
They were now just one win away from equaling Manchester City's record.
However, before returning to Premier League action against Southampton, Villa had to navigate a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Liverpool.
Ordinarily, facing the reigning European champions would be a massive test.
Although Villa had previously humiliated Liverpool 5-2 at Villa Park, Jürgen Klopp's n would undoubtedly be out for blood.
But a bizarre scheduling conflict altered everything.
The Carabao Cup tie was set for December 16th, while Liverpool's Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar was scheduled for December 17th.
Faced with playing two matches on two continents in 24 hours, Liverpool was forced to prioritize.
They sent their senior squad to Qatar, leaving under-23s coach Neil Critchley to manage a team of academy youngsters in the Carabao Cup.
Despite facing a youth team, Dean Smith refused to take his foot off the gas.
He fielded his strongest possible lineup!
...
December 16th.
Under the lights at Villa Park, the quarter-final kicked off.
It was also Theodore Bjorn's 18th birthday.
The Villa squad ca out flying, eager to gift their talisman a resounding victory to celebrate.
It took just ten minutes for the floodgates to open.
Theodore picked up the ball in midfield and casually launched a perfectly weighted, lofted pass over the high Liverpool defensive line.
Jack Grealish raced onto the ball, brought it down, and calmly slotted it past young goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher.
1-0!
...
Neil Critchley stood on the touchline, watching his young squad get sliced open.
While the Liverpool hierarchy had essentially forfeited the match, Critchley wanted to prove his managerial credentials.
Conceding so early, he decided to abandon caution.
He instructed his youngsters to press high and attack Villa with everything they had.
In the 12th minute, Liverpool's 21-year-old midfielder Pedro Chirivella received the ball.
Despite heavy pressure from McGinn and Hourihane, he managed to poke a pass out to Harvey Elliott.
Touted as Liverpool's next prodigy, the 16-year-old Elliott had already made senior appearances. Tonight, he was operating on the right wing.
Receiving the pass, Elliott drove at Neil Taylor.
The youngster showed absolutely no fear.
He executed a flurry of step-overs before exploding down the touchline, completely beating the veteran Villa full-back for pace.
Elliott reached the edge of the penalty area and opened his body to shoot.
Unfortunately for the teenager, Theodore Bjorn had tracked back.
As Elliott prepared to strike, Theodore didn't bother trying to win the ball cleanly.
He simply stepped into the winger's path and dropped his shoulder, delivering a brutal, perfectly legal body check.
Elliott bounced off the Norwegian and crashed to the turf.
Theodore erged with the ball and imdiately turned defense into attack.
He set off on a solo run right through the heart of the Liverpool team.
Chirivella and another young midfielder scrambled to close him down, but Theodore brushed them aside with embarrassing ease, utilizing his superior strength and agility.
In five terrifying seconds, Theodore had carried the ball from his own penalty area to the edge of the Liverpool box.
Center-backs Morgan Boyes and Sepp van den Berg rushed out, desperate to foul him and stop the run.
They were too slow.
Before the defenders could make contact, Theodore unleashed a ferocious shot.
Bang!
The ball rocketed into the top corner of the net!
Kelleher didn't even twitch, he just stood frozen as the ball flashed past him.
2-0!
The incredible solo effort ignited Villa Park.
Forty thousand fans waved their claret and blue scarves, chanting Theodore's na until their throats were raw.
In the broadcast booth, Martin Tyler was in awe.
"From his own box to the opponent's net! Theodore Bjorn is utterly destroying this Liverpool youth team. It's n against boys out there!"
"It looks like Aston Villa could deliver an absolute cricket score tonight," Neville added.
Two minutes later, the stadium clock hit the 18th minute.
As if coordinated, all forty thousand Villa fans in the stands simultaneously turned on their phone flashlights.
A sea of sparkling lights illuminated Villa Park as the crowd broke into a booming rendition of "Happy Birthday."
Theodore, jogging back to the center circle, was visibly moved. He raised his hands, applauding the fans in gratitude.
He thanked them the only way he knew how.
In the 21st minute, Grealish won a corner on the left flank. He whipped the delivery toward the near post.
Theodore launched himself into the air, completely overpowering two Liverpool center-backs, and powered an unstoppable header into the net.
3-0.
After scoring his second of the night, Theodore made a heart gesture with his hands toward the Holte End.
At 3-0 down, the young Liverpool squad completely lost their composure.
The occasion was simply too big, and the opposition too ruthless.
In the 31st minute, Harvey Elliott misplaced a pass straight to Grealish. The Villa captain took one touch and fired a shot that crashed against the post.
Theodore was the first to react to the rebound.
With no Liverpool player near him, he calmly slotted the ball past Kelleher.
4-0.
Hat-trick!
In the 38th minute, Theodore picked up the ball on the wing.
Using a devastating combination of pure pace and raw power, he danced past three young Liverpool defenders, cut inside onto his right foot, and curled the ball into the far corner.
5-0!
Just before the halfti whistle blew, Theodore pounced on a goalmouth scramble following a set-piece, stabbing the ball ho from close range.
6-0!
In forty-five blistering minutes, Theodore Bjorn had registered five goals and one assist!
The match was an absolute massacre.
During the halfti break, Dean Smith substituted Theodore, bringing on Henri Lansbury.
With the 18th consecutive Premier League win firmly in his sights, Smith wasn't willing to risk his star player in a dead rubber.
Even without their talisman, Villa didn't stop scoring.
Grealish and Wesley added goals in the second half, capping off an 8-0 demolition.
Aston Villa cruised into the Carabao Cup semi-finals!
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