James Milner named 2nd best fullback in world in new study

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David Alaba, Marcelo, Philipp Lahm and Dani Alves wear James Milner pyjamas to bed.

(Probably…)

Our 30-year-old midfielder/winger/fullback has been superb this term for Liverpool, after Jurgen Klopp told him he’d be fulfilling left-back duties in place of Alberto Moreno.

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Fans were crying out for Klopp to buy an outright replacement for the Spaniard during the summer, but he refused and instead instilled the veteran into a position he’s never before played.

Both offensively and defensively, Milner has been largely exceptional, and this study by football think-tank CIES Football Observatory is evidence of just how good he’s been.

The Swiss boffins have calculated a performance metric, which includes all aspects of a game (goals, tackles, passes, ground covered, interceptions, assists, etc.) and rate Milner as the second best fullback in world football this season!

First is Juventus flyer Alex Sandro, with Alaba, Filipe Luis, Danny Rose, Lahm, Antonio Valencia, Marcel Schmelzer, Faouzi Ghoulam and Ricardo Pereira making up the top ten, which is based solely on performances since the beginning of 2016/17.

Remember, this is a player we signed on a free transfer less than two years ago.

He’s our vice-captain and one of the first names on Klopp’s team-sheet – not to mention the most reliable penalty taker we’ve ever seen.

What a man!

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