Barcelona head coach Quique Setien has said that Robert Lewandowski can’t be compared with Lionel Messi despite the striker’s stunning run of form this term. The Poland international has amassed a staggering 53 goals from just 44 appearances this season and his form has led to suggestions that he is on the same level as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, speaking in a press conference, Setien dismissed the same. While the Spaniard acknowledged that Lewandowski is a great footballer, he added that Messi is quite clearly the better player among the two, he told: “Lewandowski is a great footballer, but he’s not on Leo’s level – that’s clear. He [Lewandowski] has scored 13 goals in the Champions League and he is well assisted by his team-mates. He’s in a great moment, but Leo is too, as we saw against Napoli.”

Messi has been in superb form for the Blaugrana over the course of the campaign and he has accumulated 31 goals and 26 assists from 43 appearances. The Argentina international was pivotal to the 4-2 aggregate win over Napoli during the Champions League round of 16 as he came up with a superb second leg display where he won a penalty and scored a superb solo goal worthy of the Puskas award.

Still the Blaugrana and Messi face a huge task to reach the last four of the competition, given they will be up against an in-form Bayern Munich team. The German champions have won 26 of their previous 27 games across all competitions and they managed to outclass Chelsea in the previous round with a 7-1 aggregate score. Lewandowski was undoubtedly the standout performer as he played a part in each of those goals – three goals and four assists. The winner of the contest would face either Manchester City or Lyon for a place in the final.