The 109, 190, and 205 were better than the Zero. And the Japanese wasted their good pilots and were unable to replace them.
In what respects? The Zero was more nimble than any of the German fighters.
Of course, the maneuverability of the Zero came at the expense of armor but ME-109 wings weren't noted for their strenght and the concentrated fire from a p-38 was going to do serious damage to anything that got in it's way.