James Milner outshone the likes of Mohamed Salah at the weekend and like Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, shows he still has plenty to give for Liverpool

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Cristiano Ronaldo is proving age really is just a number with the fantastic start he’s made to life back at Manchester United.

He’s not the only one though. James Milner, 35 years young, also represented the Premier League’s old-timers very well at the weekend.

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Milner was directly up against Wilfried Zaha but passed the test with flying colours

Milner was a surprise inclusion in Liverpool’s starting line-up against Crystal Palace – the midfielder stepping in for the ill Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Not only was he playing out of position at right-back, Milner was tasked with marking Palace’s most dangerous player; Wilfried Zaha.

Zaha would’ve been licking his lips at the prospect of getting duelling with an ageing pro but it was Milner and his Liverpool teammates who ate good on Saturday as they breezed to a 3-0 win.

Milner nullified Zaha’s attacking threat very effectively but was brilliant in just about every other aspect of his game as his stunning stats from the match show.

Milner went in for a crunching tackle on James McArthur during the match

Safe to say the Liverpool man came out on top

James Milner stats vs Crystal Palace

Touches (113) – Match rank: 1st

Passes (69) – Match rank: 1st

Passes in opposition half (40) – Match rank: 1st

Crosses (13) – Match rank: 1st

Tackles: (4) – Match rank: 1st

Distance covered (10.93km) – Match rank: 1st

Sprints (19) – Match rank: 1st

Not a bad effort at all for Milner, who said he only found out he was starting three hours prior to kick-off.

But the performance was Milner in a nutshell. He’s built a career on being a player who rarely puts in a lower than 7/10 display.

He started just 11 Premier League matches last term, a surprise considering the amount of injuries Liverpool had, but is a key figure in the dressing room even if he’s not playing all the time.

It was revealed in the At the End of the Storm film, which documents Liverpool’s road to Premier League glory in 2019/20, that Milner is part of the leadership team in the squad along with captain Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk.

Next up for the Reds is a Carabao Cup tie at Norwich, live on talkSPORT, with Jurgen Klopp set to make many changes with the Premier League and Champions League always a priority to him.

The young lads for Liverpool have an opportunity to show the boss what they can do but Milner is often one of the first names on the team sheet in League Cup ties.

His model professionalism and solid performances makes him the ideal man to show the young lads the way at Carrow Road and throughout their careers.