Milner underlines his class with brilliant display vs. Roma

Milner

On what was an absolutely unbelievable night at Anfield, where Liverpool obliterated Eusebio Di Francesco’s AS Roma 5-2 and Mohamed Salah stole the headlines against his former club, James Milner emphatically highlighted why he’s such an important component of this Liverpool team.

Starting on the left hand side of central midfield alongside holder Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was forced off through injury and replaced by Georginio Wijnaldum, Milner’s insatiable appetite for work, positional intelligence and tactical awareness was of immense importance.

By taking up excellent positions throughout, the man who regularly switched between the right and left central midfield posts, had a grand effect on both sides of the ball. To start with his offensive animations, and the Englishman was instrumental in drawing Roma’s central midfield pairing of Daniele De Rossi and Kevin Strootman out of shape (depending on which side he was on). By pushing into the nearby halfspace, he consequently binded either man towards him, causing them to open up a central passing lane that the likes of Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino could exploit.

Milner 1

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This tactic was successful on many occasions and caused persistent structural issues for the Giallorossi, especially when combined with the Roma wing-backs pressing the Liverpool full-backs, something that created huge spaces in behind Roma’s high line for the dynamic Reds to take advantage of.

The former Manchester City utility also shrewdly picked his moments when to embark on lung busting runs in behind too, where he’d wait for the opportune instance to make the most of when the Roma backline were unbalanced.

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Defensively, he was equally vital, where he pressed and counterpressed with intensity and purpose, plus alternated so craftily between man marking or zonal marking his opponent within the block, to make life as difficult as possible for the away side to use the ball cleanly. The selfless coverage he provided his teammates was also of huge benefit, for it ensured his side’s defensive structure remained stable.

To cap off his intuitive exhibits, Milner’s assist saw him become the first player in Champions League history to record nine assists in a single campaign.

While it was hard to imagine the robust Milner playing such an integral role earlier in the season, fast forward to now, though, and he’s shown just what a fundamental element he is to Jurgen Klopp’s plans.

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