David Alaba claims Robert Lewandowski is on par with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Bayern Munich defender David Alaba has lavished praise on teammate Robert Lewandowski, as the striker's inspired showing in the second half buoyed the Bavarians on to a stunning 3-0 victory against Chelsea in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie at Stamford Bridge.

The Polish international was at the top of his game and left Frank Lampard's side with a mountain to climb in the second leg, as he scored once and recorded two assists to put the Bavarians on the brink of the quarterfinals. Speaking in the wake of their deserved victory, Alaba said that the 31-year-old is one of the best players in the world, going on to add that he should be spoken of in the same breath as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"He is one of the best, and maybe the best, striker in the world. He scores goals in almost every game and, of course, I think he deserves to be at the top and spoken about with those guys [Messi and Ronaldo].”

With 39 goals all competitions this season, Lewandowski has aged like fine wine and has shown no signs of slowing down, as he has spearheaded Bayern's title charge despite their underwhelming start to their league campaign, which led to Niko Kovac's dismissal in favour of Hansi Flick.

"He is a world-class player and a world-class striker. We all know that he can score goals and he showed today another side of himself by putting assists. We know he is very important to us and we are grateful to have him in our squad. He shows it every weekend, I guess."

The Bavarian giants look well set to retain their Bundesliga title and with Lewandowski in the peak of his powers this season, they could be a force to be reckoned with in the business end of the Champions League campaign, as they look to continue their renaissance under Flick.