Pau Torres can’t wait to test himself against Robert Lewandowski in the Champions League

Villarreal face Bayern Munich at La Ceramica tomorrow night.

It’s a huge game, the first leg of the quarter-final of the Champions League. They don’t get much bigger than Bayern.

The German giants have won the European Cup six times in their history; in 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013 and 2020. Villarreal have won one trophy in their history, the 2021 Europa League.

But that won’t matter on the night; whoever the better side is across the 180 minutes is going to be all that counts.

One of the most interesting matchups on the pitch will be Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski facing off against Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres, who’s looking forward to the challenge.

“He’s a very complete striker who I faced in the European Championship when we played Poland,” Pau told Marca.

“He’s different from [Karim] Benzema, he plays differently. He’s a real goal threat. It seems that he’s not involved but he is in every action of the game.

“We’re coming from the experience of having faced [Dusan] Vlahovic, who produced incredible shots out of nowhere.

“We’re all going to need to defend him, starting from the top and working as a block. But we centre-backs are in charge of keeping an eye on Lewandowski and those are the challenges you want.”

Bayern beat Salzburg to make it to the last eight of the Champions League and are currently top of the Bundesliga; they’re nine points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund.

Villarreal pulled off the shock of the round in the last 16 to knock out Juventus but are struggling domestically by comparison. They’re seventh in La Liga, 12 points behind fourth-placed Sevilla.

Tags Champions League La Liga Pau Torres Robert Lewandowski Villarreal
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