MILNER’S CREATING HISTORY
CHAMPIONS King of assists eyes chance of Euro glory
JAMES MILNER claims Liverpool can go all the way in the Champions League – and wants to crown himself the assist king of Europe.
Liverpool lead Porto 5-0 ahead of the second leg of tonight’s last-16 clash.
And with one foot in the quarterfinals, Milner admitted the Reds have started to dream about European glory.
“At this stage of the tournament you need to have a belief that you can go on and win it,” he said.
“We have proved in the past we can beat anyone on our day.
“But it is about being consistent, learning from the mistakes you’ve made and not looking too far ahead. “We are improving all the time since I’ve been here
as a team. Moving ® forward we are an exciting team to watch. I think we are learning to manage games better than we have done in the past.
“That maturity is coming through. We are improving all the time.”
Milner is the most creative player in the Champions League this season with seven assists.
That’s three more than Manchester City maestro Kevin De Bruyne, Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard, Paris St-Germain star Neymar and Reds team-mate Roberto Firmino, who are next on the list.
“That’s a strength of mine even though I am seen as a bit of a workhorse who runs around a bit!” Milner added.
“Throughout the years if you look at the stats I have created a few goals. I feel this is one of my strengths as a player.
“It’s nice to have, it helps me shut down any arguments if there is any banter going on in the dressing room.
“I just want to contribute to the team. Throughout my career I’ve managed to create goals for any team I have played at. Hopefully I can keep doing that.”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been accused of being too naive with his attacking approach and it is said that his players are too honest for their own good at times.
Control
But Milner reckons the Reds have also become more savvy this season and understand how to close games out when they are ahead.
And he believes that will hold them in good stead for a tilt at the Champions League trophy.
The midfielder, 32, said: “I think over the last couple of months we have improved on that.
“It’s something we have to keep working at. It’s about game management and realising what’s going on in the game.
“We want to win games by scoring goals but there are times when you need to hold that extra midfielder back, play behind the ball and sense what’s happening in the game.
“The West Ham game recently where we were in control before they scored was a good example.
“It was disappointing how we conceded the goal but we settled the game down after that to get it under control. “That was a sign of maturity as well. Something we still need to work at but something we are very aware of and improving on.”