Sunday 3 April 2016 15:14, UK
Robert Lewandowski has challenged Mario Gotze to prove his worth to Bayern Munich.
Gotze has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular at Bayern since joining from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and has featured only 13 times this season for Pep Guardiola's side.
Sky sources understand Liverpool are interested in making a summer move for Gotze, a deal which would see the 23-year-old link up with former Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
But having watched Gotze impress for Germany during the recent international break, Lewandowski has challenged his Bayern team-mate to transfer that form onto the domestic stage.
"Mario proved during the international break that he is always capable of showing what he can do and that he is a great player," Lewandowski told Focus.
"He should not be reading what people say about him in the papers. He does not need all the extra pressure. Mario knows how to deal with it, though. He is used to it. It is silly that there is so much talk about him.
"He is a Bayern player and he has plenty of games left until the end of the season to prove that he is good enough for Bayern. He has plenty of time to prove his critics wrong. He should stay at Bayern for a long time because he is a great player.
"His biggest strength is everything he does on the ball, his movement. The way he controls the ball, turns and then charges forward for example. That's his biggest strength.
"It is perfectly normal that a player needs a bit of time after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury. He can slowly get back to his best form. People will not even remember he did not play much in the first half of the season then."
