"We have a plan to stop Messi" - Hansi Flick | OneFootball

Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick has heaped praise on Barcelona’s Lionel Messi ahead of their meeting on Friday – and believes he has a plan to stop him.

The two sides meet in the Champions League quarter-finals in Lisbon with Messi coming off the back of scoring a wonder goal in the 3-1 win over Napoli in the last round.

Flick was asked to compare the 33-year-old with his own forward Robert Lewandowski, who is the competition’s top goalscorer with 13 goals.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Flick stated: “You cannot compare Lewandowski and Messi.

“Lewandowski is a world-class centre forward. Messi has been by far the best player in the world in recent years. I don’t know if there will be another player like him in the future.

“We thought about how to stop Messi.

“But I’m not going to tell you here. The most important thing is that we play against him as a team.

We need to play smart and put pressure on him.”

Flick also revealed Benjamin Pavard has joined the travelling party and could be in contention to feature.