Liverpool proved lessons have been learnt from Champions League heartbreak, says James Milner

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David Lynch18 April 2019

Liverpool’s second consecutive Champions League semi-final appearance serves as proof that they learned major lessons from last season’s run in the competition, according to James Milner.

The Reds completed a 6-1 aggregate victory over Porto in Portugal on Wednesday evening to set up a mouthwatering meeting with Barcelona in the last four.

It is the first time since 2009, when Rafael Benitez was in the dugout, that the Merseyside club have reached this stage of the competition two seasons in a row.

And Milner believes the nature of the performance at the Estadio do Dragao proved that Jurgen Klopp’s team are even better than when they reached last year’s final.

“It’s great. Doing it back to back shows that we are improving as a team and getting to where we want to be. It’s not easy,” he said.

“The teams in the semi-finals are completely different to last year but it’s a great a place to be and mission accomplished.

“It is just having the experience of getting there the year before. There were times in the game when we were a lot calmer.

“It says a lot about the side how we went in at half-time [leading] 1-0. The pressure they put us under from the start, we knew it would be tough but we just ground it out. We defended, we got the chance and once we took it, that helped in terms of the tie.

“But we showed different sides to ourselves, defending and showing what we can do depending how the game is. You are not going to play well in every single game. It says a lot about the character with in the team.”

Although the Reds have been less prolific in Europe this term, they have shared the goals out more evenly across the team.

Milner is also pleased to have seen a variety in how he and his teammates have got themselves on the scoresheet.

He continued: “We scored with the first chance we had, which was great. In the second half, we got some great goals – a great ball in from Trent for the second – we are scoring different types of goals as well, from set plays.

“Virgil is getting a few now. He was getting a fair bit of stick earlier in the season for not getting enough, now he can’t stop scoring.

“The front three get the majority of the goals but everyone else is trying to chip in. There are assists and creativity coming from all over the pitch.”

Milner came up against Barcelona twice in the Champions League during his time at Manchester City, exiting at the hands of the Camp Nou club in both 2014 and 2015.

But the Leeds-born midfielder is confident that Liverpool are capable of beating the Catalan club to earn their place in the final.

He continued: “I have played against Barcelona a couple of times before in the knockout stages and not had the greatest success.

“They are a strong team and it is a tough place to go. But I don’t think they will have played too many teams like us. It will be difficult.

“They are a team full of great individual talent and a great side too. The Nou Camp is a fantastic stadium and a fantastic place to play with a great atmosphere. It will be very, very tough and we will have to be at our best.

“But over the last couple of seasons, with the teams that we have beaten in the Champions League, we should go there with confidence no matter how tough it is going to be.”

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