James Milner could play his final Liverpool match this afternoon after eight years at Anfield, and he’s named his favourite memory from his time at the club.
The 37-year-old has played 331 times for the Reds ahead of today’s clash at Southampton and won seven trophies under Jurgen Klopp (Transfermarkt), pre-dating the German’s arrival on Merseyside by four months.
He’ll be moving on from the club this summer upon the expiry of his contract, having said farewell to supporters following last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa.
Milner was speaking to the Liverpool Echo about his career with LFC when he pinpointed one moment in particular which he recalls fondly, and it’s one which’ll continue to hold a special place in supporters’ hearts for years to come.
He recounted: “Barcelona [4-0 win in 2019 Champions League semi-finals] is tough to beat. It’s the whole thing around it.
“The first leg we didn’t play badly but the result was massively in their favour. Then going to Newcastle having to win that and getting through it late to keep the title fight alive.
“Then the night before (Barcelona) Vinny K (Kompany) slices one in (winning goal for Man City v Leicester) when 99% of the time he doesn’t.
“All that before the game, then playing a team with world-class experience with that deficit with players missing. That’s what was so special about that night.
“It was a whole club that contributed to that night. It was Liverpool – it was the fans, the stadium, a well-coached squad, players who hadn’t played much that season to produce the performance we did.”
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Having played more than 900 times in his senior career at club and international level (Transfermarkt), there isn’t much that Milner hasn’t seen during his two decades as a professional footballer.
For him to single out that iconic night at Anfield from four years ago highlights just how incredible it was, and as he rightly pointed out later in the interview, winning that Champions League final in 2019 removed so much psychological baggage from Liverpool being runners-up on many previous occasions.
Between that season’s title race, the two cup final defeats in 2016 and the loss to Real Madrid in Kiev two years later, it would’ve been crippling if we’d pulled off that extraordinary comeback against Barcelona only to then lose to Tottenham at the Wanda Metropolitano.
As it turned out, that night paved the way for plenty more silverware over the subsequent three years, including the unforgettable Premier League triumph of 2020.
Also, given the incredible nature of the comeback against Barcelona from 3-0 down a week before, it’s no wonder Milner has cited it as the standout moment of his Liverpool career.
He’s seen plenty of good times at Anfield, even if his spell with us ends on the low ebb of missing out on a top-four finish, and he’s been an invaluable contributor to the Reds’ success under Klopp. We wish him the absolute best wherever he ends up next.