Gomez's unexpected injury left Heynckes with no choice but to bring on another substitute center forward, Mandzukic.
Mandzukic was a new signing Bayern had brought in from Wolfsburg for 13 million euros that summer.
Compared with Gomez, whose finishing was superb, whose nose for goal was sharp, and who was exceptionally good at seizing chances, Mandzukic lagged far behind in every respect.
However, Mandzukic was the kind of player with tremendous mental strength. He fought hard on the pitch and never gave up easily, even when his team was in adversity.
After coming on, he pressed aggressively in the attacking third, running tirelessly back and forth and putting enormous pressure on Werder Bremen's players in possession.
Driven by him, Bayern's attacking players further intensified their pressing.
Now Werder Bremen's players found it even harder to keep hold of the ball, and their mistakes began to pile up.
In the 51st minute, Robben broke through and fired, but the ball sailed over the crossbar and into the stands.
Two minutes later, Ribery cut to the byline down the left and crossed. Under pressure from a defender, Mandzukic headed the ball wide.
Seeing his team pinned under siege, Werder Bremen goalkeeper Mielitz wanted to use the goal kick to waste a little time and give his teammates a chance to catch their breath.
He set the ball down, picked it back up, seemingly dissatisfied with the grass where he had placed it, and even pretended to stamp the spot a few times.
That did not sit well with Bayern's players. They all protested to the referee, claiming he was deliberately wasting time.
The referee saw right through him and immediately showed him a yellow card.
After receiving the yellow card, Mielitz no longer dared to delay. He launched the ball deep into the attacking half with a powerful kick.
Since the players at the back could not hold onto the ball, they might as well kick it forward—preferably as far as possible.
Werder Bremen had only Arnautovic up front, but in his aerial duel with the opposing defenders, he reached the dropping ball first and headed it back to Lin Quan.
As soon as Lin Quan received the ball, Kroos immediately pressed him.
Bayern had clearly learned from their earlier concession and knew they could not allow Lin Quan to build up speed.
Facing Kroos's pressure, Lin Quan remained calm. With a touch and a turn, he neatly slipped past him.
But Lahm charged in again from the flank, while Boateng and Gustavo in front of him also blocked his route forward.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Quan was surrounded by four opponents.
He could not continue driving forward with the ball, so he immediately changed direction, moving laterally and taking the ball toward the left side of the pitch.
Seeing him head toward the wing, Bayern's players hesitated for a moment.
Other than Lahm, who chose to keep following him and wanted to defend him together with Kroos, who was tracking back from behind, Boateng and Gustavo both dared not continue after him.
They were defenders and could not afford to abandon their positions. Otherwise, opposing players arriving late could easily tear through their defensive line.
Lahm was quick. He caught up with Lin Quan and immediately lunged in for the ball without hesitation.
Though Lahm failed to win it, he bumped Lin Quan during the challenge, knocking him slightly off balance.
But Lin Quan held on and did not fall. He carried the ball all the way to the touchline, and when Lahm came in to challenge again, he kicked the ball off Lahm's foot and sent it out of play.
The assistant referee raised his flag to signal a throw-in for Werder Bremen.
Lin Quan did not take the throw-in himself. Instead, he gestured for a teammate to come over and do it.
De Bruyne understood what he meant and jogged over at a leisurely pace.
Calling it a jog was generous; he was moving even slower than walking.
Bayern's players protested to the referee, but the referee ignored them.
De Bruyne reached the touchline, picked up the ball, and glanced at the players ahead.
Finding no particularly good passing option, he threw the ball back toward his own defense.
Bayern's players immediately charged at the Werder Bremen player on the ball, who passed it back to one of his own defenders.
As Bayern's attacking players rushed in, the defender passed it back again to the goalkeeper in front of goal.
The goalkeeper stood on the ball, then waited until the opponents were almost upon him before hoofing it into the attacking half.
The Bayern players who had sprinted all the way over were so furious they nearly lost their minds!
They felt utterly toyed with. The opposition had dragged them around like dogs on a leash.
Their stamina had already dropped in the second half, and after another full sprint like that, they were breathing even more heavily.
After taking the goal kick, Mielitz glanced at Bayern's players.
Don't you like winning the ball?
Then go win it!
It's just a little far away, so you'll have to run a bit longer.
Arnautovic had not had many chances up front in this match. Werder Bremen had too little possession, and he was left isolated in the attacking half, unable to get the ball.
Apart from contesting a few headers, he had barely touched the ball, so he had not even broken much of a sweat. His stamina was still abundant.
When he saw the ball flying toward him, Arnautovic leaped high with all his strength and won the first ball again.
Seeing his teammate win the first ball, Lin Quan alertly ran toward the left. He knew Arnautovic had a habit of flicking the ball toward that side.
Sure enough, Lin Quan had barely started moving when the ball dropped in front of him.
Kroos, who had been marking him, failed to keep up the instant Lin Quan burst forward. That put him a step behind, and by the time he tried to chase, Lin Quan had already pulled at least two meters clear!
Two meters was not much. Against an ordinary player, a timely recovery run could still catch him.
After all, players moved more slowly with the ball than without it.
Kroos chased desperately from behind, while Lahm had already taken up position ahead. This time, he absolutely would not let the opponent get past him so easily.
But as Kroos kept chasing, he realized something was wrong.
The distance between them did not seem to be closing by much!
That guy's speed with the ball was actually almost the same as his speed without it, with barely any drop at all!
How was that possible?
Kroos was deeply shaken. He knew he could not do that himself!
Not just him—none of the players around him, or even anyone he knew, could do it either!
Except for that guy, Barca's number ten!
To achieve something like that required extraordinarily outstanding ball control!
And Messi happened to possess historically exceptional ball control!
Could this guy's feel for the ball be catching up to Messi's?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Lin Quan had gained Messi's attributes, so naturally he had gained Messi's superb ball control as well.
That was why he could so easily perform this kind of dribbling that others found utterly unbelievable.
In fact, if one looked closely, one would discover something.
Every one of Lin Quan's touches was exceptionally precise. The force was perfectly measured, and even while moving at high speed, the ball never strayed more than a meter from his body.
That alone was enough to prove his ability, and anyone with football experience could see it at a glance!
Whoosh!
Bayern's sixty-eight-year-old veteran manager Heynckes could no longer sit still. He rose to his feet, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
By now, he understood that he had underestimated the young player on the other side.
This young man was even more outstanding than he had imagined—perhaps even stronger than Messi had been when he first burst onto the scene!
Kroos had failed. He could not catch Lin Quan.
And at that moment, Lin Quan once again faced Bayern's left back one-on-one—Philipp Lahm!
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