Lisbon (AFP) – Jerome Boateng on Sunday praised the form of “world-class” Alphonso Davies and said treble-chasing Bayern Munich must stay focused in the wake of their Champions League demolition of Barcelona when they play Lyon in the semi-finals.
“I don’t know whether the others read the papers, I certainly don’t much, but we know that it is already behind us,” Boateng said of Bayern’s stunning 8-2 hammering of Barcelona in Friday’s quarter-final.
“It’s clear that a result like that doesn’t happen every day, but it doesn’t count for anything from now on,” he added. “Now we really want to reach the final.”
Thomas Mueller and substitute Philippe Coutinho both scored two goals each as Bayern crushed Lionel Messi’s Barcelona, marking the Germans as favourites to win next Sunday’s final.
As Bayern sent records tumbling, Boateng singled out the dazzling run of left-back Davies, who sliced through the defence to set up Joshua Kimmich to score Bayern’s fifth goal against Barcelona.
“Wow! It was world-class. You don’t often see such a talented boy,” Boateng said of the Canadian teenager.
“I am happy for him because he is a nice, down-to-earth lad off the field.
“There is still a lot of potential in there, he will get a lot better.”
In Wednesday’s semi-final, Bayern face a Lyon side which shocked Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the last eight.
“Of course we were surprised, but Lyon had already beaten Juventus,” said Boateng.
“It was a somewhat strange game, because Manchester had a lot of possession.
“But it really doesn’t matter to us who we play, we just want build on the positive game we had against Barcelona.”
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admitted being surprised by the steely attitude in Bayern’s dressing room after dismantling Barcelona.
“After the game, I went into the dressing room and expected the boys to celebrate a glorious victory, but they were calm and concentrated, ready for the next challenge,” Rummenigge told Sky Sport Italy.
Bayern coach Hansi Flick has won all six Champions League games since he replaced Niko Kovac last November, and the club is on a 20-match winning run dating back to February, claiming an eighth straight league title and lifting the German Cup in the process.
Boateng has also rediscovered his best form under Flick, Germany’s assistant coach when they won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“He has developed in a really positive way, his speeches are very good, training is fun,” said Boateng.
“He’s not become more distant, he has less time, but you can still talk to him about topics other than football.”
