Liverpool at Porto: Don’t praise James Milner but Sadio Mane craves legend status

As Liverpool prepare to play Porto in the Champions League, James Milner doesn’t want to be praised but Sadio Mane wants legend status.

Versatile Reds squad member Milner was highly spoken of by Sergio Conceicao in his pre-match press conference. The Dragões boss called Liverpool the best team in the world, under certain situations.

And in this situation, Milly certainly wasn’t having a bar of it and insisted that they needed to win something before such plaudits came flowing towards the side.

“Not getting over the line is disappointing, but we have the opportunity to change that,” insisted the former Manchester City star.

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If anyone is going to haul this Liverpool machine over the line, it could be Milner. Not just because of his ability with the ball, although that’s a part of it, but because of his desire and professionalism and leadership.

Sport is chaos and control can slip away from teams like grains of sand through a clentched fist – but the midfielder is confident that his team won’t be concerned about that.

“The lads are focusing on what we can control,” he added. And that’s probably a good strategy in a world with so much white noise.

Meanwhile, Mane wanted as much praise as possible and insisted that his goal was to become a bona-fide Anfield legend.

The Echo wrote that Mane was also striving to win silverware – let’s get it straight they all are – but also added that the African wasn’t just content with reaching a century of games for the club.

“Of course I want to be a legend not only for Liverpool but also in the Premier League story,” Mane said, when asked about his future at the club before the Porto game.

After the Champions League game, the Reds take on Cardiff City in the next hurdle on the way to league glory.