An early final between Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the quarter-finals
Messi and Lewandowski are in "Star Wars" today
Barcelona needs Messi's creativity today to break through the Bayern defense. EPA
Lewandowski is currently living his best scoring period with Bayern. Father
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The conflict between the stars of Barcelona and Bayern Munich intensifies today in an early European Champions League final, in the quarter-final hosted by the Portuguese city of Lisbon, in the framework of a mini-tournament, and from one match.
It will be a special competition in search of supremacy between the stars of the two teams, from Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski to goalkeepers Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Manuel Neuer. The two clubs won the championship five times and also knocked out each other in the semi-finals when they won their last titles, Bayern in 2013 and Barcelona in 2015.
Players such as Marc Van Bommel, Thiago Alcantara and Arturo Vidal both wore the jersey, and Louis van Gaal and Josep Guardiola coached both teams. And now they clash with each other for the first time in a one-round match, and the winner of both could face Guardiola's team, if Manchester City beat Lyon in their quarter-final match. Many critics see Bayern as the favorites to win the title.
Bayern has not lost since last December in all competitions, as it has won 26 out of 27 matches, and has also won its 12 matches since the resumption of football competitions, which were suspended due to the Corona virus in May, as the local team achieved the local double by winning the German League and Cup, and is currently seeking to win In the Champions League to achieve a hat-trick.
Polish striker Robert Lewandowski was an important factor in the successful season for Bayern, as he scored 53 goals in all competitions and is looking to win a hat-trick by finishing the season as scorer for all three tournaments.
Lewandowski is the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 13 goals, only four goals behind the record set in the name of Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of the number of goals scored in one edition of the tournament, where he scored 17 goals, and he also participated in the seven goals scored by Bayern Munich against Chelsea in Two round of 16 matches.
Lewandowski will turn 32 next week, and he wants to prove that he can take responsibility when things require it, an issue that has not always happened before. Bayern got a great period of rest that lasted for a month, and the 4/1 victory over Chelsea last Saturday showed that they are ready to achieve the goal of the title.
At the same time, Barcelona is in a completely different situation, having lost some way to the style it relied on in the past, losing the Spanish League title to the benefit of traditional rivals Real Madrid, and coach Quique Setien is under constant pressure.
Barcelona's 3-1 victory over Napoli was not a glorious one in order to reach the finals of the tournament in Lisbon, Portugal, but there was some hope because Messi gave a great performance and scored a beautiful goal.
Messi suffered a bruised ankle, but he will be ready to play today. "Everything is possible with Messi," who scored 115 times in the Champions League and aims to win his fifth title in the tournament, Messi suffered a bruised ankle.
Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said Messi "has something that perhaps no one else on this planet possesses", while Goretzka urged a collective effort to contain it.
The last person who can stop Messi, Lewandowski and others from scoring goals, is the goalkeeper. This match will be a duel between Manuel Neuer, captain of the German national team, and Ter Stegen, Barcelona goalkeeper, who will be the first choice for any national team if it is not Germany.
From the summit meeting:
The two teams have previously won five European Championships.
Both of them eliminated each other in the last titles won by (Bayern 2013) and (Barcelona 2015).
A group of players played for both teams (Van Bommel, Alcantara and Vidal).
The two team guards have been fighting for some time over Germany's goalkeeper (Ter
Stegen and Manuel Neuer).
Coaches Louis Van Gaal and Guardiola have coached both teams before.
Whichever team wins, they will face Guardiola and City in the semi-finals if they win
On Lyon.
Lewandowski and Messi are the most prominent strikers, the first in its 32nd year and the second 33rd.
Messi suffered a bruise in the last game that will not prevent him from reaching the summit today.