Brazil vs. Argentina: Willian explains the keys to stopping Leo Messi

Chelsea forward Willian Borges da Silva has given the keys to trying to stop Barcelona's Lionel Messi. The Brazilian international was speaking ahead of his country's friendly against Argentina in Saudi Arabia on Friday. 

"We have to pay a lot of attention to him," WIllian said. "We have to restrict his spaces. But we can't man-mark him, what we have to do is work together to close down the space he gets. Above all, we can't let him have time to think." 

In this sense, Willian's recognised that Messi's a difficult player to mark, regardless of how well the opposition do against the Barça legend. 

"He's a great player," Willian added. "The best in the world. But we have faced Argentina in the past and this time is not going to be any different." 

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, meanwhile, talked up the game against Brazil this week despite the fact it is not a competitive fixture. 

"It's never a friendly match when we play against Brazil," he said. "Like when we play against Uruguay, it's a clasico. They're difficult games, but we're up for it."