Manchester United must forget about to stop Lionel Messi and instead focus on their own strengths against Barcelona, according to Dwight Yorke.
United face the Spanish giants in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford on Wednesday and Yorke believes they will need to be "near-perfect" to overcome the La Liga leaders, with the second leg at the Nou Camp the following Tuesday.
Messi has been in magnificent form for Barcelona in recent months and there has been plenty of discussion about how United can contain him over two legs.
But Yorke believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side should instead concentrate on how they can affect the game if they are to progress to the semi-finals.
"I don’t think we can stop Messi,” he told United's official website. "I think that you have got to concentrate on your game. I think we have to play the most near-perfect game to overcome Barcelona.
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“We know that Messi is arguably the world’s best footballer in our generation, and when you have that sort of mentality, it is always difficult. But I feel if we play the team collectively and we play to our potential, even with Messi’s greatness, I think we may just have the edge on them.
”We have to play as a team and we have to play to our full potential and, of course, you need a little bit of luck in those games to go your way and, if we can get that on the night, there is no reason why United cannot come out victorious in those two-legged games.“
Yorke twice played for United against Barcelona during the 1998/99 treble season. The two teams met in the Champions League group stages and shared a pair of 3-3 draws, with Yorke scoring twice in the Nou Camp, including converting another pin-point David Beckham cross.
“I would say that there was no other footballer in the world, even to this day, with a better delivery of a football than David Beckham,” Yorke added.
“For me, not the greatest footballer I have played with, but certainly he was a big part of my success in terms of the number of goals that I scored at United.
"He is a great footballer, a great ambassador and a great guy. More importantly, I had a real good time, real fun, playing with David Beckham.”
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