'Here we go' - Former Liverpool star reveals what Jurgen Klopp said before Barcelona win

Former Liverpool midfielder James Milner has opened up on what Jurgen Klopp said to the players prior to their famous Champions League win over Barcelona.

During his time at Liverpool, Milner, 38, played a key role across eight years at the club and he even pre-dated Klopp having arrived at the start of the 2015/16 before then going on to win seven major trophies. He also started in midfield against Barcelona at Anfield on that famous night, as they overturned a first-leg deficit of three goals to secure their passage to the final in Madrid.

A day before the incredible encounter, Vincent Kompany's now-iconic late strike against Leicester City kept Manchester City ahead of Liverpool in the title race which eventually ran until the final day of the season, which left the Reds reeling less than 24 hours before their clash with Lionel Messi's side. Milner claimed that it was a big blow at the time but it was something that Liverpool, and Klopp, swept to the side before facing Barca.

"It stands out as the best for me [the greatest night at Anfield]" Milner told Jeff Stelling in a special interview for his podcast Football's Greatest. "We needed City to drop points the night before, and then Vinnie [Vincent Kompany] goes and...I've seen him do it a 100 times in training and slice it into the bushes, and he decides to go and slice it into the top corner this time." He joked.

"We came in on the day of the game and the manager says 'does anybody want to say anything about last night's game? No? Right, here we go' It looked like the league wasn't going to happen so to be able to beat Barcelona like that is pretty amazing. The players missing, what happened the night before, the disappointment and just the manner we went about it."

Having left Merseyside in the summer at the end of his contract to join Brighton, he has played 19 times for Roberto De Zerbi's side. He has managed to leapfrog Ryan Giggs in the all-time Premier League appearance list after joining the Seagulls and is now hunting down Gareth Barry's record of 653.