Liverpool defeated Shrewsbury Town 1-0 last night in the FA Cup to qualify for the 5th Round for the first time since Jurgen Klopp arrived.
Neil Critchley managed a team of teenagers, with Pedro Chirivella the elder statesman at 22-years-old and Harvey Elliott the youngest at 16.
Liverpool’s first-team squad were all away on a break, as the Premier League instructed them to be last year – which Jurgen Klopp took seriously enough to withhold them all from playing on Tuesday evening.
All except for James Milner, that is. TV cameras showed the vice-captain sat near the management team just behind the dugout – and he was involved in the dressing room both before and during.
James Pearce tweeted Critchely’s quotes following the game:
Critchley: “James Milner trained with us yesterday and asked if he could come along. He gave words of advice to the players in the dressing room before the game and I can’t thank him enough.” #LFC
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) February 4, 2020
Milner was entitled to be on holiday, but instead, he helped the kids before the biggest game of their lives.
That says so, so much about him as a person and a professional – and it’s no wonder he recently extended his contract to stay at the club until 2022.
We’re truly very, very lucky to have him.