‘It was fun beating Messi’ – Bayern star Goretzka has no sympathy for Barcelona and their superstar
Bayern star Leon Goretzka says it was fun to take down Lionel Messi and co. during the extraordinary 8-2 humiliation of Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Bundesliga giants humiliated the Spanish giants and their Argentine star at the Estadio da Luz on Friday evening, with former Barca playmaker Philippe Coutinho grabbing a double, as did Thomas Muller.
There were also single goals to Ivan Perisic, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich and Robert Lewandowski, with Bayern now meeting the winner of Manchester City and Lyon in the last four of the competition.
Post-match, Goretzka was asked if it hurt to embarrass a possible childhood idol such as Messi, to which he replied: “No, it didn’t hurt, it was fun actually.”
With Bayern now favourites to win the competition, Goretzka was pleased by their performance but insisted the team has to stay focused to reach the ultimate goal.
“It’s difficult to put this into words so soon after the game. I think it will take a couple of days to process this result,” Goretzka told Sky Sports.
“We have so much confidence, but as we just said in the changing room we’ve taken the first of three steps.”
Muller, who scored the opening goal of the game in the fourth minute, struggled to explain why Bayern were so dominant in the match.
But he insisted the team were only thinking about their next match when the result against Barca means nothing.
“It’s tough to explain. I think in this moment our team is in incredible shape,” Muller said to BT Sport.
“Thanks for the man of match trophy – maybe we have 12 to 15 players who deserve it. We worked so hard and have this intensity. It’s tough to beat us. It was so much fun today.
“For our style of players it doesn’t matter about the names of players we are facing. When someone presses and dribbles, it’s not a problem. Then we catch the ball and have so much talent in the offensive line.
“We feel good, but now we have to be quiet and regenerate.
“This is a big statement but the next game we start at 0-0. The statement doesn’t matter. The other teams will watch our game and they can be impressed or not. We start at 0-0 and have to win the next game.
“Today we have to be very happy. After we wake up and answer the messages on the phone then we have to focus.
“I know about these tournament situations. Most of the time after the big wins (he played in the 7-1 win over Brazil at the 2014 World Cup) it’s difficult
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