James Milner would have more than a fighting chance of being on the plane to Russia with England for this summer's World Cup if he hadn't retired from international football and put in another performance of endeavour, vigour and energy as Liverpool blitzed Roma 5-2 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.

The former Manchester City man, valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, ensured that the Reds were not knocked off course by the premature loss of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain through injury in the first half and built up a lead that should not be assailable in Rome next week.

It is clear that the Reds' fans have taken Milner to their hearts as an underrated and understated contributor to their high-tempo style, dominating the engine room to allow the Red Arrows up front to do the damage and grab the headlines.

We've taken a closer look at the reaction of the Liverpool support to Milner's performance against the Italian giants on a night that saw him break the record for assists in a Champions League campaign - with nine...

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