Milner explains why Liverpool hero was annoyed with him after winning FA Cup
James Milner has revealed Kostas Tsimikas "had the hump" with him after Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to win the FA Cup final in 2022.
Both Milner and Tsimikas scored from the spot as Liverpool won 6-5 in the shootout, with Tsimikas taking the winning penalty after Mason Mount missed for the Blues. And Milner has explained that he was not watching the full-back as he ran up to take the penalty, with the 38-year-old instead choosing to watch the fans as he wanted to see their "reaction when it went in".
In an appearance on Football's Greatest with Jeff Stelling, Milner reflected on his longevity and said he is now trying to enjoy the moment a lot more as he knows retirement is right around the corner. "I haven't got a target [for retirement]," he said.
"I think you just take every game and enjoy every game you come into... Is it my last Premier League game? Is it my last European game? You never know. So I'm just trying to enjoy and take it in.
"I felt that more towards the end with Liverpool when we won trophies, just taking things in that you wouldn't think about before. I would watch the boys' reaction when we won the title, standing at the back of the room and watching the Chelsea game and watching everyone in front of me and how they were reacting.
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"That was special and you wouldn't normally do that, but I was fortunate enough to have done it before so I just wanted to enjoy it. When we won the cup at Wembley I was watching the fans' reaction when Kostas scored the penalty.
"Kostas had the hump with me because he thought I couldn't watch his penalty because I had no faith in him. But I wanted to watch the fans' reaction when it went in. It's the little things like that and I've been lucky enough to be able to experience them."
Milner did not watch as Tsimikas scored the winning penalty in the FA Cup final (AFP via Getty Images)Milner spent eight seasons at Liverpool before leaving to join Brighton on a free transfer over the summer and, having joined the club the same year Jurgen Klopp was appointed manager, he also lifted the lid on how the German has changed during his tenure. "At the start there were not many days off, a lot longer and harder training at times," Milner added.
"And then I think to his credit, Germany was a lot different as they have the winter break, whereas England Christmas is the busiest period and I think he learnt to trust the team. I think he had ideas about players and maybe English players as well, they like to drink a lot, don’t prepare well and I think he saw with the squad he had that it wasn’t like that and if players got a day off they would look after themselves.
"To his credit he changed things and softened as time went on, but never lost his edge," Milner added. "He was more definitely aggressive at the start, he lost his rag a bit more at the start, but that is setting the standards, it's probably the players he had wasn't his squad and he wanted to get his point across."
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