James Milner lauds ‘special’ Liverpool squad and sends title ‘fight’ message to Man City

James Milner has hailed the Liverpool squad as a “special group of players” after they beat Southampton 2-1 despite conceding first.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had a hard fight on their hands, knowing a win would be the only thing to keep them in the Premier League title race. The Reds, however, reigned victorious at St Mary’s thanks to two goals from Takumi Minamino and Joel Matip.

Liverpool conceded first and initially found the Saints’ defence hard to break down. Minamino, however, scored from an extremely tight angle and ensured the Reds were still in the game.

Matip then added the cherry on top of the cake after scoring a glancing header to ensure Liverpool’s title charge was still on.

Milner endured the full 90 minutes, even switching positions to right-back to replace the injured Joe Gomez. The Southampton goal looked to deflect off the 36-year-old and he had his say on the matter.

“Yeah, 100 per cent. I think Ali would probably save it, it flicked off me I think,” Milner said to Sky Sports.

“It was a bit unlucky, backs against the wall then. It’s easy to make excuses [about] the emotion of the weekend, how much we put into the weekend and then having to come here so soon after; going one down.

“But there’s no excuses with these guys, they just keep pushing it and keep going. It was great to get in front and then try to see it out, keep the ball as much as we can and conserve that energy.”

Liverpool currently sit second in the Premier League table. Klopp’s men are just one point behind Manchester City in what has been one of the most entertaining Premier League seasons in recent history.

Liverpool continue to show mentality

Coming off the back of an FA Cup win, emotions were seemingly high among the Liverpool camp. Throughout the season, Klopp’s men have consistently been branded as ‘mentality monsters’ due to the willpower they show each game.

Milner spoke about the team’s overall mentality going into the game and how the Reds are a “special group of players”.

He added: “The guys are incredible, the guys who maybe haven’t played as much; but you should see them train every single day, it’s incredible the level they put in.

“You can see when they need to step up, they have. It’s a special group of players and a special football club.

“We fight to the end, keep going, all we can do is take it as far as we can.”

Minamino is one of the players who, when called upon, always performs above his expectations. The Japan international has scored 11 goals from 11 shots on target this year. He is one of the key reasons why Liverpool got to the latter stages of both domestic cups.

Klopp has even branded the 27-year-old as the Reds’ “Mr League Cup and FA Cup”.

How Milner thinks Liverpool performed

Klopp played a heavily-rotated team against Southampton with some of the players not appearing for the last few games. Liverpool’s overall squad depth has improved ten-fold since their injury-riddled campaign last season.

Milner has spoken about the performance of the team and how well they performed as a collective.

Milner further added: “It says a lot. It shows how ready everyone is, it shows how ready they are mentally, even when they’re probably not playing as many minutes as they would like.

“The intensity and desire in training every day to be able to come and play the way we play is special,

“That starts right from the top with the manager and the attitude of the players.”

Milner’s contract ends this summer and if he leaves, he will surely be missed among the squad. He has plied his trade in Liverpool since 2015 and has been one of the most dependable players throughout Klopp’s reign.

It is however, looking likely that Milner is ‘certain’ to extend his contract for one more year after Klopp had his way.