Liverpool ace James Milner was scrutinised after his display against Manchester City earlier this month, but Jermaine Jenas has defended him.
The Reds hammered Watford 5-0 on Saturday afternoon as Roberto Firmino bagged a fine hat-trick.
Mohamed Salah scored another ridiculous goal and Sadio Mane took his Premier League goal tally to 100.
All in all, a superb day’s work for Liverpool, with Milner bouncing back after a rough showing against City.
Jenas moves to defend Liverpool veteran Milner
With Trent Alexander-Arnold missing against City before the international break, Milner had to start at right back.
That meant lining up against Phil Foden, and the City start ran riot in a superb performance.
Milner was very lucky not to be sent off having committed a clear foul on a yellow card.
Some criticised Milner, believing he was simply too old to be playing as a full back.
Now 35, Milner is towards the tail end of his career, but pundit Jenas has defended him.
Speaking to BT Sport (16/10, 2:10pm), Jenas suggested that Foden giving Milner problems had nothing to do with age.
Instead, Jenas believes that Foden would have caused mayhem against Milner even if the Liverpool man was 22. Simply put, Jenas thinks Milner has never been as quick as Foden, so his age now doesn’t matter.
Jenas praised the energy and quality Milner provides, even if he doesn’t have pace.
“There was a lot said about Milner’s performance at right back against City the other week and they brought his age into play when it came to talking about pace,” said Jenas. “That had nothing to do with James Milner’s age, that performance.”
“James Milner at 22 would have still got ran by Phil Foden in that game. He’s just not as quick. You can see in games like today, his energy, the quality that he possesses, he’s still as good as he ever was,” he added.
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