Liverpool’s ‘exceptional professional’ simply dropped to his knees at full-time in their 1-0 win over Man City

Add as preferred source on Google

James Milner enjoyed the full-time whistle as Liverpool beat Manchester City 1-0 on Sunday at Anfield. The midfielder was outstanding.

James Milner had to play as a right-back against Manchester City on Sunday. Liverpool were without Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konaté, after all, meaning Joe Gomez was a centre-back. Trent Alexander-Arnold was only fit enough for the bench.

And that was a worry. Milner isn’t a full-back, while Phil Foden is one of the most in-form left-sided players in the country. Not only that, but Foden terrorised Milner last season in the same fixture, scoring twice in a 2-2 draw.

But Milner was sensational. Shay Given said afterwards that he’d kept City’s no.47 ‘in his pocket’ for the full 90 minutes. Jurgen Klopp acknowledged the pre-match worries when hailing his vice-captain for an ‘outstanding’ performance.

Garth Crooks included him in his BBC Team of the Week, labelling Milner an ‘exceptional professional’.

This was a brilliant display. A 36-year-old midfielder playing out of position against the champions for a team that has struggled defensively all season. And he kept Foden relatively quiet as Liverpool earned a clean-sheet.

It should be no surprise, then, that Milner ‘celebrated’ the full-time whistle by dropping to his knees on the turf. By that point, he was operating as a right-sided centre-back in a back five. We can’t imagine how exhausted he must have been.

Thiago helped him up again as Milner set off to perform a series of post-match interviews. It’s safe to say that no one worked harder yesterday than the veteran midfielder.

James Milner drops to his knees at full-time

Milner is an incredible player and one who will be irreplaceable when he finally leaves Liverpool. There is literally no one else on the planet with his mix of experience, work-rate and versatility. How many players – 36 or not – can play both full-back positions and multiple midfield roles?

How many could play them in one of the biggest games in world football? There is probably only one and he’s been doing it for nearly two decades.

Milner is a sensation and if this does prove to be his final season with Liverpool, we’ll look back on this game as a perfect example of everything he’s brought.