‘Epitomised what Liverpool were’: Sky Sports pundit in awe of how good ‘tenacious’ Klopp favourite was v City

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Gary Neville has been singing the praises of James Milner after Liverpool saw off Manchester City to kickstart their season this weekend.

A goal from Mo Salah proved enough for the Reds to take a big three points and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping it is a win that gets his side truly going this term. Klopp was forced to make some big calls for his team, especially in defence, as Ibou Konate suffered a late injury.

One of those big calls was to play Milner at right-back and Neville, speaking on his podcast for Sky Sports, believed the former Leeds man summed up everything good about Liverpool.

“Milner I thought epitomised what Liverpool were today in terms of their passion, spirit, their energy, their fight. Cos he was up against Phil Foden who still played well. Then in the second half he had Bernardo Silva in that channel up against him as well,” Neville said.

“But he was just tenacious. I think it epitomised his career, not just Liverpool today. Not just in terms of his position and one he didn’t want to play but he’s there again doing a job for the team.”

TBR’s View: Milner Continues To Defy The Odds At Liverpool

Everyone thought before the game that Erling Haaland would have a field day against a makeshift Liverpool defence that had already been vulnerable this season.

Milner was exceptional and he proved the doubters wrong himself after being called out for being over the hill and too old to contribute to the Reds’ cause.

Now well into his 30s, Milner once again showed just why Jurgen Klopp loves him and Neville’s praise here was more than warranted. In a long season, where Klopp needs big performances, Milner showed he is far from done just yet.