Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick stayed neutral in the debate whether his striker Robert Lewandowski is better than Barcelona star Lionel Messi ahead of Friday’s Champions League quarter-final clash in Lisbon
Barca face Bayern
at the Estadio da Luz for a place in next Wednesday’s semi-final.
In the build-up,
there has been much debate whether Lewandowski, the Champions League’s
top-scorer with 13 goals in seven games, or six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi
is the better player.
Earlier on
Thursday, Barca coach Quique Setien said Lewandowski is “clearly” not at Messi’s
level after former Bayern star Lothar Matthaeus said the Poland striker had
overtaken the Argentina forward as the world’s best player.
“You can’t compare
the two players,” insisted Flick.
“Robert is
absolutely world-class as a central striker.
“He has a lot of
quality, especially in the penalty area, he guarantees goals and creates them
too.
“Messi has been by
far the best player (in the world) for many years.
“I don’t know
whether there will be a player like him again.”
Lewandowski is
enjoying the best season of his career so far with 53 goals in 44 games, while
Messi has managed 31 in 43 matches.
However,
treble-chasing Bayern need to come up with a plan on how to contain Messi.
“You never defend
against him alone. In the (previous Bayern) games against Messi, it always
worked well when the whole team played their part,” said Bayern forward Thomas
Mueller.
“If the first
player doesn’t win the ball (from Messi), the next comes and tries.
“We have to act
together, go into the challenges aggressively, but cleanly.
“It will be
exciting, but in our games in the last few weeks, we have shown that we can do
it,” he added with Bayern unbeaten in their 13 match since the restart.
Flick insists
Friday’s showdown is not “Bayern against Messi. Of course he’s a world-class
player and we have thought about how to play against him.
“We have to be
there as a team, be smart and put pressure on him.”
Bayern are chasing
the treble after winning an eighth straight Bundesliga title and lifting the
German Cup.
In contrast,
Barcelona surrendered the Spanish title to Real Madrid after winning only seven
of their 11 matches since the Spanish league resumed.
Nevertheless,
Barcelona’s former Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal has insisted the Spanish
giants are “the best team in the world”.
The Germans
resisted making a similar boast, but are in confident mood, even if Flick
refused to make his team the favourite.
“Both teams have
tremendous quality,” he said.
“When such top
clubs meet, even a bit of luck can be decisive.
“We have to believe
in ourselves, act confidently and with the necessary intensity going into this
game.”
