Milner has Liverpool back on song
Veteran steadies nerves in Bournemouth victory It is never easy to win league games, he says
If ever there was a line to sum up the feelings after a Premier League win, it came from James Milner following Liverpool’s 27th win in 29 games. “Get the music on and enjoy it,” he said.
He was not talking about the seemingly inevitable celebrations for claiming the Premier League trophy, the 2-1 victory over Bournemouth edging Jurgen Klopp’s side ever closer.
For Milner, it is a reminder each success must be savoured before minds shift to the next challenge, in this case the visit of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League roundof-16 second leg on Wednesday.
Milner believes the swiftness to pick holes after three defeats in four games shows Liverpool’s broad brilliance is taken for granted.
“It is not a normal thing to win the amount of games we have won. As soon as you drop points, away in a Premier League game… that is normal,” he said. “Those are the standards we have set, so when it happens to us all hell breaks loose.
“It is not easy to win Premier League games. I have been there. I have been relegated and you think it is just an impossible task to win a game of football. You have to remember how hard it is and how competitive the Premier League is. When things have gone so well, people think it is easy. It is not.
“People think, ‘Oh they are going to win again, the title is done’. No one gives you it. You have to win those games. You don’t go through a season without not playing well. It happens to everyone. It’s the same in every sport. There is always going to be a [difficult] spell and it is how you deal with it.”
The Liverpool vice-captain’s reassuring presence was never more obvious on Saturday than when his side were a few minutes from their hysteria-killing three points. They won a free-kick near the Kop corner flag and Sadio Madio moved to take it quickly when there was a shout to stop so audible with its Yorkshire accent it may have crossed counties.
Just as he had been to deny Ryan Fraser with an acrobatic goal-line clearance to secure the 2-1 win, Milner was in the right place to reduce the blood pressure of team-mates and fans; to calm the mania.
“What the team has done this season has been unbelievable,” he said. “Every time we win a game it is a case of, ‘Get the music on in the dressing room, enjoy it’.
“You don’t become a bad team overnight, you don’t become bad players overnight and sometimes things don’t quite go for you. It is important that you don’t just focus on the negatives because confidence is a fragile thing and momentum is massive.”
Milner says premature coronations of champions-in-waiting bring another psychological challenge.
“It was the same [when I was] at Manchester City. You have a target – you need this many out of this many to win it – and it does make it harder,” he said.
“Talk of records is of no concern. We are more driven by the disappointment of how many points we got last year and it not being enough.
You have to mentally deal with it,” Milner added. “But that’s one thing you can’t question: the mentality of this group.”
Invited to lavish more praise on his versatile veteran – Milner deputised for Andy Robertson – Klopp rolled his eyes. “I hope I haven’t been short of praising Millie in the past,” he said. “Why would we extend the contract of a 34-year-old by two years if he’s not incredibly important to everything?”
Finding a place in the starting XI when the squad is at full strength is trickier. What is certain is if Liverpool work their way into an advantage over Atletico – who they trail 1-0 – on Wednesday, there is no one more equipped than Milner to protect it to ensure the music plays on at full volume in Europe, too.