“Losing the title can work for us,” Milner said, as quoted by Liverpoolfc.com. “If we’d won the title, then the Champions League final might have felt like a bonus.

“The danger was that we ended up with nothing – and we still might – but the memory of losing out to City drives us on.

“Since I’ve been at the club, I’ve been desperate to win something for Liverpool. That’s what the club demands and expects.

“You walk into the training ground every day and you see the numbers under each trophy. I’ve been desperate to get someone in to change those.”