There’s the old saying, if you can’t beat them, try to injure them instead.
OK that’s not exactly how it goes but watching James Milner against Paris Saint-Germain it would be fair to say he’s out to damage some of the more illustrious players.
He is running round like a human wrecking ball.
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With the scores still 0-0 at the Parc des Princes in a tense atmosphere Milner was on a mission to let everyone know he was there.
First on his list? Angel Di Maria.
The Argentine was ready to receive the ball on the turn in a nice position in midfield but he hadn’t spotted Milner coming in like a homing missile from 10 yards away.
But before he could say ‘PSG are Champions League frauds’ Milner was steaming right through the back of him.
That’s 5’7″ of pure Yorkshire beef crunching into the back of Di Maria in what was a very heavy challenge.
All legal mind as no free kick was given.
But it seems Milner has a bit of vendetta against the PSG stars.
He is a typically no nonsense football and when you are presented with the devilish skill of Di Maria or Neymar there is only really one way to deal with it, tackle and tackle hard.
Di Maria is a former Man United player and as we all know that rivalry burns strongly, but that doesn’t explain why Milner absolutely crunched Neymar the last time these sides met…